Australian music and entertainment personality Richard Wilkins has returned a positive result for coronavirus, a little over a week after meeting Rita Wilson.
Wilkins, the entertainment editor for free-to-air Nine Network, was tested because he came into close contact with Wilson at the Sydney Opera House on March 7 and again at the network’s Sydney studio on March 9. He received the news on Sunday night.
“It’s actually a bizarre feeling to have tested positive to this thing we’ve all been talking about. I feel 100%,” he tweeted. The New Zealand-born Wilkins has been self-isolating at home since Thursday last week.
Wilkins was the original host of MTV Australia during its initial run as a short-form program in the late 1980s. He’s a regular compere at music industry gatherings, both on the red carpet and the stage. The 65-year-old TV veteran presented at the 2019 ARIA Awards and has hosted previous editions of the annual event.
Wilson and her Oscar-winning husband are currently recovering in a Gold Coast hospital, having tested positive to the novel virus last week. Hanks is in Australia for the filming of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis Presley biopic.
Australia has more than 250 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with five reported deaths.
