While Tom Hanks continues to recover following his coronavirus diagnosis alongside wife Rita Wilson, his sons have been sharing their thoughts on the situation.
The 63-year-old revealed on 12 March that he and Rita contracted the virus while out in Australia.
And after Chet gave us all an update on his parents, insisting ‘they’re not even that sick’, Tom’s son Colin has weighed into his dad’s self-isolation.
The Oscar-winning actor had previously thanked ‘helpers’ in Australia as he continued to keep a safe distance from others.
Uploading a very Aussie snap to his Instagram, the actor posted: ‘Thanks to the Helpers. Let’s take care of ourselves and each other. Hanx.’
He enjoyed two slices of toast with Vegemite and even got a little souvenir Kangaroo holding the Australian flag.
With those pieces of toast lathered with a rather legendary coating of Vegemite, punters soon descended into a debate about whether or not Tom had used too much of the yeasty treat (no regrets on that phrase).
Many applauded the actor for going hard on the Aussie staple, while others thought it was frankly offensive and clearly going to burn his mouth to high hell with each bite.
Honestly, with an Aussie writing this here piece, we say ol’ mate Hanks deserves all the (virtual) elbow bumps.
Colin had other thoughts, though, as he wrote on Twitter amid all the chatter about his dad’s meal choice: ‘I’ve been saying “That’s way too much for one piece of toast.” to him for years.’
Tom and his wife join around 160,000 other people worldwide who have so far been diagnosed with Covid-19, the illness caused by coronavirus. The virus causes flu-like symptoms, and in most cases will go away without treatment after around two weeks. Almost 6,000 people have so far died of Covid-19.
Around one in 10 people afflicted with coronavirus require hospitalisation, with pneumonia a common side effect.
On Friday, the Forrest Gump star provided fans with some information on how they were getting on since finding out about the diagnosis.
He wrote on Instagram: ‘Hello folks. @ritawilson and I want to thank everyone here Down Under who are taking such good care of us.
‘We have Covid-19 and are in isolation so we do not spread it to anyone else. There are those for whom it could lead to a very serious illness. We are taking it one-day-at-a-time.
‘There are things we can all do to get through this by following the advice of experts and taking care of ourselves and each other, no? Remember, despite all the current events, there is no crying in baseball. Hanx.’
What does self-isolation mean?
Self-isolation means staying indoors and avoiding all contact with other people for 14 days, according to the NHS.
It means no going to work, school, the shops or even to the park for some fresh air, in order to minimise the risk of passing on Covid-19.
Public transport and taxis are a no-no and you shouldn’t have visitors over, even if you just stay at home.
Anyone in self-isolation is advised to ask friends, family and delivery drivers to pick things up for you and drop them-off. You should put a sign outside telling people you are self-isolating and everything should be left on the floor outside your front door to avoid the risk of further infections.
Those who are self-isolating are still advised to stay away from their pets as much as possible and to wash their hands before and after touching them.
If you live in a house share and have to self-isolate, the advice is to stay in your room with the door closed and only emerge to use communal kitchens, bathrooms and living areas if absolutely necessary.
Who should self-isolate?
The government advises anyone returning from Category 1 areas (Hubei, Iran, Italy and Daegu or Cheongdo in South Korea), to go straight home and self-isolate, even if they don’t display any symptoms.
Travellers should use the 111 online coronavirus service to find out what to do next.
Anyone returning from Category 2 areas should self-isolate and call 111 if they have Covid-19 symptoms. You can find the list of those places here.
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