PARIS: Hollywood star Tom Hanks has had it, and so has French World Cup winner Blaise Matuidi and Canadian premier Justin Trudeau’s wife — the new coronavirus has hit even the rich and famous as it continues its relentless march across the globe.
Here is a roundup of some well-known personalities who have tested positive for COVID-19 around the world...
Hollywood Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks and his wife, actress and singer Rita Wilson, announced they had tested positive for the virus on March 12, while the couple were in Australia.
Five days later the pair was released from hospital and have since self-quarantined.
British actor Idris Elba said on March 16 he had tested positive for the virus and has gone into self-isolation.
Chilean author Luis Sepulveda, who lives in northern Spain, has the virus and is in hospital. He felt the first symptoms on February 25, two days after returning from a literary festival in Portugal.
France’s 2018 World Cup winner Blaise Matuidi has been in self-isolation at his home since March 11 after testing positive. His club Juventus in Italy have announced their Italian defender Daniele Rugani has also tested positive.
As a precautionary measure their teammate Cristiano Ronaldo has been in isolation for several days in Madeira, where he was born, though he has shown no symptoms. He has called on fans via social media to respect public health guidelines.
Five footballers with the Italian club Sampdoria have tested positive, along with the club’s doctor. Serbian striker Dusan Vlahovic at Fiorentina, another Serie A club, is also infected.
In Britain, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi have both tested positive.
A third basketball player in the NBA, Christian Wood, has tested positive. This follows the confirmed infections of Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell.
Colombian cyclist Fernando Gaviria and Russian cyclist Dmitry Strakhov, both at the UAE Tour, have been identified with the virus.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been in isolation since March 13, after his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau tested positive. At a news conference in front of his residence on March 17 he called on Canadians to hunker down for the long haul against the coronavirus.
Members of governments in several countries — Britain, France, Iran, Morocco, Norway, Poland and Spain — have been infected.
Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton is in hospital quarantine after being infected. He had recently met Ivanka Trump, the daughter and aide of US President Donald Trump.
The president himself, who finally agreed to be tested after coming into contact with several infected people, on March 14 announced that he was negative.
Brazilian far-right president Jair Bolsonaro said on March 13 he had tested negative, posting his test result to his Facebook page, along with a picture of himself flashing an obscene arm gesture.
