Tom Hanks has dubbed himself, along with wife Rita Wilson, the "canaries in the coalmine of COVID-19." That’s because the couple were the first celebrities to contract the virus and speak publicly about it during their time in quarantine in Australia where the actor was filming his latest project. Now, Hanks has detailed their experience in a new interview in the
Guardian, warning readers that coronavirus affects people with a wide and varying range of symptoms.“Our discomfort because of the virus was pretty much done in two weeks and we had very different reactions, and that was odd,” said Hanks. “My wife lost her sense of taste and smell, she had severe nausea, she had a much higher fever than I did. I just had crippling body aches, I was very fatigued all the time and I couldn’t concentrate on anything for more than about 12 minutes. That last bit is kinda like my natural state anyway,” he joked.Hanks said
in the interview that while he and Wilson have both been lucky enough to escape the after-effects some coronavirus patients experience, the couple were very vigilant in monitoring their various symptoms while they were sick. “When we were in the hospital, I said: ‘I’m 63, I have type 2 diabetes, I had a stent in my heart–am I a red flag case?’ But as long as our temperatures did not spike, and our lungs did not fill up with something that looked like pneumonia, they were not worried,” he explained, adding, “I’m not one who wakes up in the morning wondering if I’m going to see the end of the day or not. I’m pretty calm about that.”Currently, Hanks is focused on following the recommended COVID guidelines as issued by health professionals. “There’s really only three things everyone needs to do: wear a mask, social distance, wash your hands," he said. "I know societally it’s been politicised, but I don’t get it, man. I don’t understand how anyone can put their foot down and say: ‘I don’t have to do my part.’”[video_embed id='1962553']RELATED: Canadian designers are making fashionable face masks [/video_embed]To that end, Hanks,
along with Jennifer Aniston, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Reese Witherspoon, is doing his part to encourage the public to keep each other safe. He made
near-identical comments about masks and physical distancing at a press conference for his upcoming film
Greyhound last week.As for the path his country and government have taken in dealing with the pandemic, Hanks seems disappointed, to put it mildly. “I must say, I grew up looking to our leaders for calm and informed guidance and I don’t think we’ve got that.”Speaking of guidance, perhaps Hanks is the one we really need to be looking toward. He once again takes on the role of a Captain in the WWII-era
Greyhound from which he's drawn even more worldly wisdom. When asked for what advice he could give to the world facing such major hardship, Hanks hesitated at first, but then used the film to offer some encourage at a tumultuous time.In it, his character carries around a scrap of paper with the words "Yesterday, today and forever" written on it. “That’s all we have as human beings and that’s all we have in the midst of the 19 different crises that we’re facing right now,” said Hanks. “Between COVID-19, worldwide economic disaster, what happened to George Floyd—the great reckoning that we’re all going through. What do we have that we can have faith in? Well, we can have an understanding of yesterday, we can have a plan for today and we can have hope for forever, and that’s it.”Bless you, America’s Dad.[video_embed id='1969623']BEFORE YOU GO: How to talk to your kids about wearing face masks [/video_embed]
