Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson test positive for coronavirus

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, in their 60s, felt unwell in Australia and have tested positive for the virus. Photo / Getty Images

Tom Hanks and wife Rita Wilson have both tested positive for coronavirus, the couple have announced.

They explained they both felt unwell while in Australia and the tests confirmed the couple have contracted the virus.

"Hello, folks. Rita and I are down here in Australia. We felt a bit tired, like we had colds, and some body aches. Rita had some chills that came and went. Slight fevers too. To play things right, as is needed in the world right now, we were tested for the Coronavirus, and were found to be positive," Hanks posted on his Instagram account.

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, in their 60s, felt unwell in Australia and have tested positive for the virus. Photo / Getty Images

"Well, now. What to do next? The Medical Officials have protocols that must be followed. We Hanks' will be tested observed, and isolated for as long as public health and safety requires. Not much more to it than a one-day-at-a-time approach, no?

"We'll keep the world posted and updated.

"Take care of yourselves!"

View this post on Instagram

Hello, folks. @ritawilson and I are down here in Australia. We felt a bit tired, like we had colds, and some body aches. Rita had some chills that came and went. Slight fevers too. To play things right, as is needed in the world right now, we were tested for the Coronavirus, and were found to be positive. Well, now. What to do next? The Medical Officials have protocols that must be followed. We Hanks’ will be tested, observed, and isolated for as long as public health and safety requires. Not much more to it than a one-day-at-a-time approach, no? We’ll keep the world posted and updated. Take care of yourselves! Hanx!

A post shared by Tom Hanks (@tomhanks) on Mar 11, 2020 at 6:08pm PDT

The couple have been in Australia for a few days and are now in isolation.

Trump suspends travel from Europe to the US

Taking dramatic action today, American President Donald Trump announced he is sharply restricting passenger travel from 26 European nations to the United States.

"To keep new cases from entering our shores, we will be suspending all travel from Europe to the United States for the next 30 days," Trump said during a rare Oval Office address to the United States, adding it would come into effect from 11:59pm Friday.

However Homeland Security officials later clarified that, outlining the specifics of restrictions that would apply to travellers.

Trump said the restrictions won't apply to the United Kingdom, and there would be exemptions for "Americans who have undergone appropriate screenings." It also wouldn't apply to cargo.

He said the US would monitor the situation to determine if travel could be reopened earlier.

After days of playing down the threat, Trump blamed Europe for not acting quickly enough to address the novel coronavirus and claimed that US clusters were "seeded" by European travellers.

While Trump said all European travel would be cut off, Homeland Security officials later clarified that the new travel restrictions would apply only to most foreign nationals who have been in the "Schengen Area" at any point for 14 days prior to their scheduled arrival to the United States.

The area includes France, Italy, German, Greece, Austria, Belgium and others, and the White House said the zone has the highest number of confirmed Covid-19 cases outside of mainland China. The restrictions don't apply to legal permanent residents, immediate family of US citizens or others "identified in the proclamation" signed by Trump.

Trump's response comes as officials race to confront a viral pandemic that is roiling global financial markets and disrupting people's daily lives.

There are 1135 confirmed cases of the virus across the US, with 38 deaths.