Tom Hanks reveals what it was like to be diagnosed with COVID-19 while in Australia

He shocked the world when he announced his coronavirus diagnosis while on the Gold Coast filming Baz Lurhmann’s Elvis Presley biopic back in March.

And now, Tom Hanks has revealed what it was like to be the ‘canary in the coalmine’ along with his wife Rita Wilson, when it came to COVID-19. 

On Saturday, the Castaway star, 64, told The Daily Telegraph that medical professionals at the hospital had to explain to the celebrity couple what it meant to have the deadly virus. 

‘When we were told we were found positive, we thought, “What? What did we win?”,’ Tom recalled. 

He added: ‘Then you’re given the facts. We were told, “Here’s the reason why you have got to be careful; here’s the reason why it’s very important that you do your part”.’ 

While Tom and Rita partially went into isolation to maintain their own health, they felt they the ‘twin responsibility’ to ‘not give the virus to anybody else’. 

The Hollywood couple remained in hospital for three days before returning to their rented home on the Gold Coast to continue quarantining. 

‘I was the canary in the coal mine for some of this, for sure. But now we are once again at the place where there is no guarantee of immunity, from the information that I’ve read,’ he said. 

Tom, who has since returned to his home in Los Angeles, went on to remind his fans that they were still ‘smack-dab in the middle’ of the pandemic. 

Earlier this month, the Forrest Gump actor had a few choice words for anyone refusing to wear a mask or practice social distancing to help contain the spread of COVID-19.

‘There’s really only three things we can do in order to get to tomorrow: Wear a mask, social distance, wash our hands,’ the A-list Hollywood star told People.

‘Those things are so simple, so easy, if anybody cannot find it in themselves to practice those three very basic things – I just think shame on you.’