There’s no point denying it: coronavirus is basically the only thing anyone is talking about right now. This week has been an anxiety-ridden time, as people stock up for potential quarantine situations, basically every major event has been canceled, and everyone just generally doesn’t know what to do with themselves. It remains to be seen how bad things will get before they get better, but COVID-19 is affecting us all. And that includes famous people. This week, we’ve seen the first round of high-profile public figures test positive for the virus, and there are sure to be more in the coming days and weeks. Here are all the celebrities who have tested positive for coronavirus so far.
Boris Johnson
On Friday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson became the latest world leader to announce that he has coronavirus, sharing the news in a message on Twitter. He said that he’s “developed mild symptoms” over the past 24 hours, and just got his positive test results. This seems like yet another example of a famous person getting tested unnecessarily, considering that us normal people are being told to stay home and not get tested if our symptoms are mild. Love to see it!
Prince Charles
On Wednesday, March 25th, Buckingham Palace announced that Prince Charles had tested positive for COVID-19. According to their statement, Charles is only “displaying mild symptoms,” and is generally in good health. Charles, who at 71 year old is definitely in a susceptible age bracket, is self-isolating in Scotland. According to the Palace, Charles’ mother Queen Elizabeth is in good health currently, and the two last saw each other on March 12th. Hopefully everyone in the Royal family comes out of this safely, but either way, season 14 of The Crown is about to be lit.
Rand Paul
On Sunday afternoon, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul’s staff announced that he tested positive. He’s the first US Senator to test positive (that we know of), which is ironic considering that last week, he was the only Senator to vote no on a bill for emergency coronavirus funding. I would never wish this upon anyone, but maybe this will convince him to take things a bit more seriously.
Andy Cohen
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On Friday afternoon, Andy Cohen shared on Instagram that he has the coronavirus. In his post, he said that he had been self-quarantined and feeling rough for a few days. Earlier on Friday, he had announced that he would resume hosting Watch What Happens Live this week from his home, but those plans have now been put on hold. Hopefully he starts feeling better soon, because if we have to go two whole months without WWHL, I’m actually going to lose my mind.
Colton Underwood
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Buckle up, because Bachelor Nation has officially been hit. On Friday afternoon, Colton Underwood shared on IGTV that he tested positive for COVID-19. He said that he’s been practicing social distancing “since last week”, and that he got tested after he began experiencing symptoms in the past few days. He didn’t mention Cassie at all, so let’s hope she’s somewhere far away, also staying inside.
UPDATE: Well, it looks like Cassie isn’t far away, she’s just downstairs. Colton posted an update on Monday, saying that he’s quarantining on the third floor of Cassie’s parents’ house, which is apparently huge. It sounds like his symptoms have been pretty miserable, saying that “breathing is challenging,” and it feels like he can only use 20% of his lung capacity. He said he’s getting an inhaler, so hopefully things will start to clear up for him soon.
Daniel Dae Kim
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On Thursday, Hawaii Five-0 star Daniel Dae Kim shared that he tested positive for COVID-19 in a heartfelt IGTV video. I’d recommend watching the full video, as he’s incredibly well-spoken, but he reiterates the importance of following protocols, and celebrates our healthcare professionals for being on the frontlines of this fight. He also urged people to ” stop the prejudice and senseless violence against Asian people”, stressing that this virus doesn’t discriminate based on race or nationality, and neither should we.
Charlotte Lawrence
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Earlier this week, singer Charlotte Lawrence shared her diagnosis on Instagram, with an impassioned message urging her followers to take all the recommended precautions. At 19 years old, Lawrence is one of the youngest public figures to be diagnosed with COVID-19, which gives her an important platform to reach members of Gen-Z with this message. To get through this, people of all ages have to work together, and if the video of dumb spring breakers is any indication, not everyone gets it yet.
Prince Albert II of Monaco
On Thursday, it was announced that Prince Albert II of Monaco tested positive for COVID-19, making him the world’s first head of state to come out publicly with a positive diagnosis. In a statement from the palace, Prince Albert urged “the people of Monaco to respect containment measures and to limit contact with others to a minimum,” adding that his condition is not serious at the moment. Honestly, if a Prince can stay inside, so can you, so just hang in there and do what you’re supposed to.
Arielle Charnas
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On Wednesday morning, fashion influencer Arielle Charnas, also known as Something Navy, shared on Instagram that she tested positive for COVID-19. Earlier in the week, she had gotten backlash online for sharing her experience of being tested for the virus. While it’s great to be open, Charnas didn’t meet the standard requirements to be tested, and people called out her privilege. In her post today, she acknowledged how fortunate she is, and called upon the government to make tests available to everyone. In her post, she also shared a detailed update on her symptoms, which definitely don’t sound fun.
Kevin Durant
On Tuesday, Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant told The Athletic that he had tested positive for the virus, along with three of his teammates. There are now several NBA players who have tested positive, making the league’s early decision to shut down seem all the more prescient. Durant told everyone to “be careful, take care of yourself and quarantine,” and that’s really the best advice for now.
Idris Elba
On Monday afternoon, Idris Elba became the latest high-profile celeb to announce he has coronavirus. He posted a video on Twitter, in which he said that he got tested last Friday after realizing he was exposed to someone with the virus. While it’s unclear how he was able to get tested without showing any symptoms (famous people things!), he said he’s been quarantined since he realized he was exposed, and will continue to isolate. I feel like this would never have happened if they had just made him James Bond when they had the chance.
Rudy Gobert & Donovan Mitchell
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On Wednesday, the NBA made the shocking decision to immediately suspend the remainder of their regular season. Well, it was shocking at the time, but a lot has changed in the last two days. The decision was made after Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19, just days after he touched every microphone in an interview room as a prank. That didn’t age well. He’s since apologized for his “careless” actions, but the damage is done. Since then, one of Gobert’s teammates, Donovan Mitchell, has also tested positive, proving that shutting down the season was probably the right call.
While it’s good that Gobert and Mitchell were able to be tested quickly, this situation raises some important questions about access to testing. As a preemptive measure, all traveling members of the Utah Jazz were tested—58 people in total. This is in stark contrast to the current situation at U.S. hospitals and health facilities, which are finding it nearly impossible to get their hands on enough tests. According to the COVID Tracking Project, only around 14,000 people in the entire country have actually received COVID-19 tests, leading to concerns that there could be many more cases than we’re even aware of. I’m glad the NBA players are staying safe, but it’s really troubling that normal people—particularly those who are at high risk—aren’t getting the same treatment.
Tom Hanks & Rita Wilson
In many ways, this Wednesday was the day when things in the U.S. really started to feel intense. More large-scale cancelations were announced, and President Trump announced the European travel ban. But sh*t really got real on Wednesday night, when it was confirmed that Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson had both tested positive for COVID-19. Currently working on a movie in Australia, the couple confirmed the news on Instagram, and have since updated us saying that they’re doing fine, and following all quarantine procedures.
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While Tom Hanks is one of the most beloved people in the world, people on social media pointed out that it’s kind of f*cked up that it took him getting diagnosed for people to really actually care about what’s going on. When it comes down to it, Tom Hanks is going to be fine—he has access to all the best medical care, and he won’t be in financial trouble if he has to take a few weeks off of work. But for thousands of people who have been infected, or are at risk of infection, the effects from coronavirus could be a lot more dire.
UPDATE: Tom and Rita are still in isolation down in Australia, but it looks like they’re both going to be okay. On March 17th, Tom Hanks posted an update on Instagram, saying that his symptoms one week after testing positive remained much the same: “No fever but the blahs.” I feel like we all have the blahs right now, but his are probably a little worse. On March 22nd, Rita Wilson posted an IGTV video titled “Quarantine Stir Crazy,” in which she flawlessly raps every word to “Hip Hop Hooray” by Naughty By Nature. If you’ve never paid attention to Rita’s social media before, she loves wacky sh*t like this, so I think it’s safe to say that she’s feeling like herself again. Thank god they’re getting better.
Daniele Rugani
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Obviously, the situation is not great in Italy right now. The entire country is under lockdown, and there have been thousands of confirmed COVID-19 cases. Until this week, the top-tier Italian football league Serie A was playing its games without fans present, but now it looks like that may have been a mistake. Daniele Rugani, a defender for the league’s Juventus team, tested positive for coronavirus, forcing all of his teammates to enter quarantine. In an Instagram message, he thanked all the health professionals who are working to make it through the crisis, and encouraged everyone to respect the rules that have been put in place. Currently, all of Italy is “forbidden to gather in public,” and the Prime Minister himself described the policy as “I stay home” (relatable), so the Juventus players are far from the only ones staying inside. With the tightened restrictions, including all sporting events in Italy being suspended earlier this week, hopefully the spread will be slowed.
Nga Nguyen
Coronavirus started to become more of a major concern at the tail end of last month’s Milan Fashion Week, and with good reason. This week, it was revealed that Nga Nguyen, a Vietnamese socialite, tested positive for the virus. It’s not known exactly when she was infected, but there’s a chance she already had the disease when she attended last month’s Gucci fashion show in Milan. After that show, she flew to Paris for the Saint Laurent show, so basically, who knows how many people she could have exposed. In the wake of her positive diagnosis, Nguyen spoke to The New York Times, saying that she’s had to delete her social media accounts due to “messages that threatened [her]self and [her] family.” Wash your hands, people, there’s no need for death threats.
Sophie Grégoire Trudeau
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Last night, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that he and his wife Sophie were isolating themselves after she showed flu-like symptoms upon returning from a trip to the UK. This morning, it was confirmed that Sophie had tested positive for coronavirus. According to a statement from their communications director, the Prime Minister is currently in “good health with no symptoms,” so he won’t be tested for the virus at this time. Still, he’ll be stuck at home for the next 14 days, which like, same.
Coronavirus is still far from being contained, so it seems inevitable that more famous people will be affected by the disease, and we’ll keep you updated as there are more developments. We’re all just trying to figure this sh*t out together, but who knows how it will end?
Images: Tinseltown/Shutterstock; rudygobert27, tomhanks, daniruga, justinpjtrudeau / Instagram; Dave Benett/FFR /Getty Images
