Following Tom Hanks' March 11 announcement that he and his wife, actress-singer Rita Wilson, both 63, have contracted the new coronavirus, one of the high-profile venues where Rita recently performed is being disinfected.
CNN reports that the famed Sydney Opera House, where Rita sang on March 7 before she and Tom were diagnosed with COVID-19, is undergoing a deep cleaning. News.com.au further reports that concert organizers were tracking down everyone who might have had close contact with Rita or Tom at the event, which was attended by 207 people.
The couple's movements in Australia, where they've been for at least a week, according to The Hollywood Reporter — Tom's Down Under to shoot an as-yet-untitled Elvis Presley movie for Warner Bros. with director Baz Luhrmann — are being traced by health authorities as the pandemic continues to escalate, reports confirm.
News.com.au reports that Rita also performed at the Emporium Hotel in Brisbane's South Bank on March 5 — she's promoting her latest album, "Halfway to Home" — and appeared on the nation's "Today Extra" show earlier this week. Several staffers and hosts from the Channel 9 program have now been ordered to self-isolate, the outlet confirms. It's also been reported that Tom visited the famous Bondi Beach.
The Hollywood Reporter further reports that authorities from Queensland Health — the government department overseeing the outbreak there — believe the couple, who are believed to be in isolation in a Queensland hospital, contracted the coronavirus in America or perhaps in transit to Australia. Though officials did not name Tom and Rita, it's clear they are two of the people referenced in a March 12 announcement explaining that all of Queensland's new reported infections are believed to be non-contact cases and involve patients who likely "contracted the illness outside Australia and traveled to Queensland with the virus."
The Oscar winner took to Instagram on March 11 to share his and Rita's health news with the world as they became the first American celebrities to publicly acknowledge they've contracted the dangerous virus.
"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," he wrote. "Well, now. What to do next? The Medical Officials have protocols that must be followed. We Hanks' will be tested, observed, and isolated for as long as public health and safety requires. Not much more to it than a one-day-at-a-time approach, no? We'll keep the world posted and updated. Take care of yourselves! Hanx!"