Daniel Dae Kim has revealed that he has tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Thursday.
The Hawaii Five-0 actor shared a 10-minute video on Instagram, opening up about his journey to the diagnosis and telling his fans to self-isolate.
“Ready for a fight? I am. Yesterday I was diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the #coronavirus,” Kim wrote. “I posted something on my Instagram page if you’d like to hear a little about my experience.”
“I wanted to let you know that yesterday I tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus,” the actor said on Instagram.
Kim, who is in Hawaii and was tested for the disease there, said he was shooting the series New Amsterdam in New York before production shut down and he returned to Hawaii to be with his family.
Kim said he “ironically” had been playing a doctor who “gets recruited to help patients during a flu pandemic.”
“It’s important for you guys to know that I was asymptomatic during all of this time,” he said.
Kim revealed that when his flight was landing he noticed “scratchiness” in his throat. “To be safe, when I got home I quarantined myself in a room in the house and tried to rest on my own,” he said.
He revealed that once he was in the room alone, that’s when the symptoms got worse, including tightness in his chest, body aches and a fever.
Kim said he went to a “drive-thru testing facility that had just opened in Honolulu,” and shared that he found the test to be painful.
“They shove a huge swab into your nose and into your throat.”
He apologized to the cast and crew members that he could have passed the coronavirus to.
“For all those out there, especially teenagers and millennials who think this is not serious, please know that it is,” the Always Be My Maybe actor said. “And if you treat this without care, you are potentially endangering the lives of millions of people, including your loved ones. So for the sake of everyone else, please follow the guidelines: socially distance, self-isolate, stop touching your face and, of course, wash your hands.”
He touched on the violence and discrimination that people of Asian descent have received since the outbreak began.
“And one last, very important thing: Please, please stop the prejudice and senseless violence against Asian people,” Kim said. “Randomly beating elderly, sometimes homeless Asian Americans is cowardly, heartbreaking and inexcusable. Yes, I’m Asian, and yes, I have coronavirus, but I did not get it from China. I got it in America. In New York City.
“And despite what some political leaders want to call it, I don’t consider the place where it’s from as important as the people who are sick and dying. If I did, I would call this thing the New York virus, but that would be silly. The point is, the name-calling gets us nowhere. What matters is how best to take care of ourselves and one another.”
Kim said he’s “grateful to be alive and healthy. It gives me hope that through our collective efforts we can beat this thing and flatten the curve.”
He told his followers that he will provide updates “as necessary.”
“But in the meantime, please be safe, please be healthy and please be kind to one another,” he said. “And please stop hoarding the toilet paper. Seriously. How dirty are you down there?”
Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:
Health officials say the risk is low for Canadians but warn this could change quickly. They caution against all international travel. Returning travellers are asked to self-isolate for 14 days in case they develop symptoms and to prevent spreading the virus to others.
Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.
To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. And if you get sick, stay at home.
For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here.