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The coronavirus, for many, just got personal.
Tom Hanks, a Hollywood star who, for many, feels like a pal, struck a chord across America’s celebrity-obsessed culture when he announced Wednesday that he and his actress wife both tested positive for coronavirus while on a shoot in Australia for an upcoming Elvis Presley biopic.
The internet’s reaction was basically:
The people wanted more. Needed more. How’s he doing? Will he be OK? What’s his next move?
Hanks’s son, Chet, obliged. His message: Tom’s fine. “It’s all going to be alright but I appreciate it and just, everybody stay safe out there,” he said in this Instragram post that went viral overnight:
The top comment on the post came from Chet Hanks’s mom, Rita Wilson: “I love you, angel.”
As it stands now, there are 1,050 cases of COVID-19 in the U.S., according to Johns Hopkins University. At least 29 people have died in California, Florida, New Jersey, South Dakota and Washington. However, as of Saturday, only about 1,500 people in the U.S. had been tested, and health experts have said the magnitude of the outbreak is likely much greater than that.
