Richard Wilkins Tests Positive For Coronavirus After Meeting With Rita Wilson

Richard Wilkins, a veteran entertainment editor for Channel 9, met Wilson after her performance at the Sydney Opera House on March 7.

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An Australian entertainment reporter who met Rita Wilson after her performance at the Sydney Opera House, has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19).

On Sunday, Richard Wilkins, a veteran entertainment reporter for Channel 9 in Australia, confirmed he had tested positive on his personal Twitter account. The 65 year-old tweeted that it was a "bizarre feeling to have tested positive" adding that he felt "100%" and had "no symptoms at all."

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Wilkins met Wilson after she had performed songs from her album Halfway to Home at the intimate Utzon Room at the Sydney Opera House on March 7. Wilson had also performed at Brisbane's Emporium Hotel on March 5 and made an appearance on Australian morning talk show Today Extra on Nine Network on March 12.

The network instituted a “crisis response plan around a visit to our studio by Ms. Rita Wilson, a Nine spokesperson said in a statement. “Our actions are in line with the guidelines set out by the Government and Health Authorities. Those who were in prolonged contact with Ms. Wilson have been tested and are self-isolating for 14 days," the Nine spokesperson added.

Nine is not the only TV broadcaster here to have been impacted by the coronavirus. On Monday, Viacom CBS-owned Network Ten, instructed all staff to work from home from today for an indefinite period as a precaution against the coronavirus. At Ten, a “minimal” number of employees will continue to come into the office.

“As a precautionary measure, ViacomCBS has asked that all employees work from home until further notice,” a Network 10 spokesperson said. “The safety and well-being of our employees continues to be our number one priority.”

The network’s move will not impact Ten’s broadcasting or commercial work, it said and there are no known cases of COVID-19 at the company’s sites.

Hanks is in Australia as preproduction work begins on Baz Luhrmann’s as-yet untitled Elvis Presley movie for Warner Bros., in which the Oscar-winning star will play Elvis' manager Colonel Tom Parker.

Wilson and her husband Tom Hanks, both 63, tested positive for the coronavirus and confirmed the news on Hanks' Instagram: : "Hello, folks. Rita and I are down here in Australia. We felt a bit tired, like we had colds, and some body aches. Rita had some chills that came and went. Slight fevers too. To play things right, as is needed in the world right now, we were tested for the Coronavirus, and were found to be positive."

The couple posted an update on their condition on Thursday, tweeting: "Hello folks. Rita Wilson 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?"

He concluded by making a reference to his movie A League of Their Own: "Remember, despite all the current events, there is no crying in baseball."

Meanwhile, Hanks has come under light hearted fire from Australian fans after posting a photo of his coronavirus recovery menu on Instagram which includes toast liberally spread with the peculiarly Australian breakfast favourite, Vegemite.

Many raised concerns for Hanks health pointing out that most Aussies prefer a thin spreading of the very salty, Vegemite on buttered toast.

“Ok that’s far too much vegemite on the toast,” posted one fan Twitter, while another argued “not enough I say”, while another user opined “ Wow. Well we will find out if Vegemite kills Coronavirus! A scraping Tom! A scraping!"

Hanks’ post was captioned “Thanks to the Helpers. Lets take care of ourselves and each other. Hanx.”

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