Coronavirus is spreading at a rapid pace that it affected around 120 countries with more than 145,000 confirmed cases and 5,429 deaths reported as of Saturday, March 14. The WHO has already declared the outbreak as global pandemic.
Italy called for nationwide lockdown till March 10 to deal with COVID-19 disease, while Denmark followed with nationwide lockdown for one month until mid-April. Major events such as English Premium League, Indian Premium League, Formula 1 Race, UEFA Europa League, National Basketball Association either got suspended or postponed due to the fear of coronavirus. Cancellation also included major concerts of Jonas Brothers, BTS, Taylor Swift, Alice cooper and many more pop stars.
Not just sports events and music concerts, fear of coronavirus delayed filming of big movies like seventh edition of Mission Impossible, Fast and Furious F9, James Bond installment No Time To Die and Black Widow.
While there are speculations that coronavirus outbreak is on its way to trigger economic recession, here is the list of some well known public figures from sports and film industry who have been diagnosed with virus recently:
Tom Hanks and Rita Wilsontly: Tom Hanks announced on Twitter March 12 that he and his wife, Rita Wilson have been tested positive for coronavirus when they were in Australia. He said that they are following protocol and they will be isolated as long as public health and safety requires.
The Oscar winning actor tweeted another post on March 13 along with a picture, thanking people who are taking good care of them. "Rita Wilson and I want to thank everyone here Down Under who are taking such a good care of us. We have Covid-19 and are in isolation so we do not spread it to anyone else. There are those for whom it could lead to a very serious illness," he wrote.
Duniele Rugani
On Wednesday, it was announced that Juventus Football Club player Duniele Rugani had been tested positive for coronavirus. Serie A, Italy's one of the major football leagues has been called off for a month due to virus outbreak. Rugani played his last match against Milan behind closed doors on Sunday. All the players from both the teams have been quarantined for 14 days in order to stop the spread of disease.
Paulo Dybala
There were rumors that after Duniele Rugani Paulo was the second player from Juventus Football Club to test positive for the virus on Friday. Juventus player, 26, who has 1.9 million followers on twitter posted, "I wanted to confirm that I am well and in voluntary isolation. Thank you all for the messages and I hope you are well # NoFakeNews."
Callum Hudson-Odoi
English professional football player, Callum Hudson from Chelsea had a positive test result for coronavirus on Friday. He was staying away since he was showing cold symptoms on Monday. Chelsea club said in a statement that its full squad has gone into self-isolation which includes all the men's team players, coaching staff and backroom staff.
"It is expected that those who did not have close contact with Callum will return to work in the coming days. In the meantime, the men's team building, one of several separate buildings at our training ground, will remain closed. The rest of our training facility, Stamford Bridge and our other facilities are operating as normal."
Timo Hubers
Timo Hubers from German football team, Hannover 96 was said to be the first professional football player in Europe to get diagnosed. Hannover 96 confirmed on Wednesday that Hubers has been tested positive for coronavirus. He is now under quarantine at his home while all the staff members and players have been tested for the virus.
Mikel Arteta
Former player and Spanish professional football coach Mikel Arteta was tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday, March12. Arsenal's manager, Mikel was the first one to get diagnosed in English Premium League. Arsenal' full squad has been sent for self-isolation after he was tested positive.
Mikel thanked everybody through twitter post and support Premium League for making the right decision. "Thanks for your words and support.Feeling better already.We're all facing a huge & unprecedented challenge.Everyone's health is all that matters right now.Protect each other by following the guidelines & we'll come through this together.Well done PL for making the right decisions"
Rudy Gobert
NBA player Rudy Gobert was tested positive for COVID-19 last Wednesday, March 11. Match between Jass and Oklahma city got cancelled because of it. After the news came out, players from both the teams were quarantined immediately. This led to big decision for calling off this season of NBA.
NBA officially announced that it is suspending game following the conclusion of Thursday's night schedule of games until further notice. NBA will use this hiatus to determine next steps for moving forward with regard to the coronavirus pandemic.
Donovan Mitchell
Rudy Gobert's team mate Donovan Mitchell was the second NBA player to test positive for coronavirus. Mitchell who goes by the name Spidadmitchell on Instagram thanked everyone who was concerned about him after hearing the news.
"I appreciate the authorities in Oklahoma who were helpful with the testing process and everyone from the @utahjazz who have been so supportive," he said. He added that he is going to follow the advice of his medical staff and hoped that everyone is there for each other to help.
