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COVID-19

Tom Hanks thanks ‘helpers’ in new coronavirus update

In this Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020  photo, Tom Hanks, left, and Rita Wilson arrive at the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. On Friday, March 13, 2020, the Associated Press reported on a manipulated image circulating online depicting actor Tom Hanks quarantined at a hospital in Australia with a volleyball that looks like Wilson, his make-believe friend in the movie “Cast Away.” It first circulated as satire. Hanks is in Australia shooting an Elvis Presley biopic directed by Baz Luhrmann. Hanks shared the news about his positive tests on Twitter Wednesday. (Jordan Strauss / Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
By Peter Sblendorio Tribune News Service

Tom Hanks expressed his gratitude for those helping him after he and his wife, Rita Wilson, were diagnosed with coronavirus in Australia.

The acclaimed actor shared a brief update Sunday on Instagram, along with a photo filled with staples of Australia, including a stuffed kangaroo, a plush koala bear and Vegemite spread on his toast.

“Thanks to the Helpers,” Hanks captioned the photo. “Let’s take care of ourselves and each other. Hanx.”

The toy kangaroo in the picture is holding an Australian flag.

Hanks and Wilson, both 63, revealed their diagnoses last Wednesday, with the “Forrest Gump” star writing that they would remain isolated and take things a day at a time.

He then shared an uplifting Instagram update last week in which he referenced one of his famous lines in “A League of Their Own.”

“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?” Hanks wrote at the time. “Remember, despite all the current events, there is no crying in baseball.”

Wilson, meanwhile, made a playlist out of song suggestions from fans to listen to while in isolation, which she named “Quarantunes.”

News of their positive tests came on the same night that it was revealed Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert had also tested positive for the virus. The NBA suspended its season shortly thereafter. Gobert’s teammate, Donovan Mitchell, has since tested positive as well.

Nearly every major movie release through April has been postponed amid the outbreak, while numerous concerts and festivals have been postponed or canceled.