Idris Elba tests positive for coronavirus
- British actor says he has no symptoms but is isolating himself from others
- Elba said he took test because he had been exposed to someone who had contracted Covid-19
British actor Idris Elba said on Monday he had tested positive for the new coronavirus, joining Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, among the first major celebrities to contract the respiratory disease.
Elba, who starred in television police drama Luther and played the Norse god Heimdall in Avengers: Infinity War, said in a Twitter post that he had no symptoms but was isolating himself from others. It was not clear where he was located.
“This morning I tested positive for Covid 19. I feel ok, I have no symptoms so far but have been isolated since I found out about my possible exposure to the virus. Stay home people and be pragmatic. I will keep you updated on how I’m doing … No panic,” Elba, 47, wrote.
Elba said he had taken the test because he found out on Friday he had been exposed to someone who had contracted the disease. He did not identify the person.
“Stay positive. Don’t freak out,” he said in a video accompanying the Twitter post. His wife, Sabrina, was seen in the background.
Hanks and Wilson said last week that they had contracted the disease while working on a film in Australia.