Shame on you, says Tom Hanks to people not following social distancing, urges fans to not let their guard down

LOS ANGELES: Hollywood veteran Tom Hanks has urged his fans to not let their guard down and keep on wearing masks to safeguard themselves from the coronavirus pandemic.

His comments come at a time when the US is seeing a resurgence in Covid-19 cases. So far, 129,000 people have died from the disease in the country.

Hanks, who along with his wife, singer-songwriter Rita Wilson recovered from the highly-infectious disease in March, expressed his concern towards people who aren't paying attention to social distancing guidelines.


"There's really only three things we can do in order to get to tomorrow: Wear a mask, social distance, wash our hands... Those things are so simple, so easy, if anybody cannot find it in themselves to practice those three very basic things – I just think shame on you," the 63-year-old actor said.

"Don't be a p****, get on with it, do your part. It's very basic. If you're driving a car, you don't go too fast, you use your turn signal and you avoid hitting pedestrians. My Lord, it's common sense," he added.

According to People magazine, Hanks was speaking during a virtual press conference to promote his upcoming World War II drama "Greyhound", which will debut on Apple TV+ on July 10.

The actor also gave an update on his and Wilson's health post their recovery from Covid-19.

"Oh, as the canaries in the coal mine for the Covid-19 experience, we are fine. We had about 10 days of very uncomfortable symptoms. Not life-threatening, we're happy to say. We were isolated in order to keep an eye on ourselves because if our temperatures had spiked, if our lungs had filled, if any number of things had gone wrong with this, we would have needed expert medical care," Hanks said.

"We didn't. I guess we were model recoverers from Covid-19, but we were also isolated so that we would not give it to anybody else that we came in contact with, and since then have been doing the same isolating, social distancing that is being asked of the world so, we are fine," he added.

The couple tested positive for the virus in February and spent a week in isolation at a hospital in the state of Queensland in Australia. They returned to Los Angeles by March end.

Hanks was in Australia for the pre-production of Baz Luhrmann's untitled Elvis Presley film, whereas Wilson performed at Sydney's iconic Opera House.

Warner Bros suspended the production on the film, starring Austin Butler in the lead, till further notice.