Yesterday brought the surprising news to fans around the world that actor Idris Elba of The Wire, Pacific Rim, and The Suicide Squad had tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus, making him the latest high-profile celebrity to announce such a diagnosis. Elba has since taken to his social media platforms to thank fans for their well wishes and all the love being sent to him while also answering questions about his circumstances and how he’s fighting the disease. “I appreciate all the prayers and all the thanks that people are giving us and the good wishes,” Elba said in a live video on Twitter. “The love’s coming in and I really appreciate it. I’ll keep you updated as to how we’re doing.”
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Elba went on to answer fan questions about how he’s been occupying his time while in quarantine (he’s learning to play the guitar, playing video games, and cooking), but also offered a word of caution for fans around the world about misleading information about the virus that is out there.
“There are so many weird conspiracy theory things going about, please guys, now is not the time. If you’re sending that stuff out or manifesting it, it is not the time. People need to know facts, need to understand the truth so that they can protect themselves. Stop sending this stuff out, it’s very dangerous for all….The more we can understand the facts, the better we can deal with it.”
Elba also addressed the question about how he was able to get a test for the virus done so quickly as there are a shortage of tests both in the United States and the UK. In reply, Elba said:
“The simple answer is that on Friday last week I was told that someone I had been in contact with had tested positive. I’m on location, about to start a film, and the news breaks that this person, who is also in the public eye, had tested positive so it was definitely something that I had to do as I was about to start filming and was around a lot of people. And quite honestly my job made me test immediately, I had to test anyway because it meant putting a lot of people at risk if I had been exposed then the people I’d be working with would also be exposed.”
Elba went on to say how proud he was of actor Tom Hanks for making his announcement that he had tested positive for the coronavirus, citing the Academy Award winner as helping the situation and inspiring him to make his own announcement.
