Pro-wrestler turned Hollywood actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson said in a video message posted on social media Wednesday that he, his wife and their two young children tested positive for COVID-19 in recent weeks but that they all have recovered and are healthy.
Johnson, 48, said in the Instagram post that he and his spouse, Lauren, 35, and their daughters, Jasmine, 4, and Tiana, 2, caught the coronavirus about two and a half weeks ago from “very close family friends” whom he said had no idea how they had become infected.
“This has been one of the most challenging and difficult things we have ever had to endure as a family,” he said in the video filmed at his home.
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“I’ve gone through some doozies in the past, I’ve gotten knocked around and gotten my ass kicked in the past with some challenges. But testing positive for COVID-19 is much different than overcoming nasty injuries or being evicted or even being broke.”
The actor said his family, like their friends who caught the virus first, had been “disciplined” about adhering to safety measures to avoid the virus.
The two young girls suffered only “a little sore throat the first couple of days” and bounced back, but Johnson and his wife had “a rough go,” he said.
“But I am happy to tell you guys that we as a family are good. We are on the other end of it,” he said. “We are no longer contagious, and we are, thank God, we are healthy.”
The star implored his fans to “stay positive” and “care for your fellow human beings” as the pandemic continues to rage across the United States, which is the most infected country in the world with over 6 million cases to date and more than 185,000 deaths.
He mentioned he has best friends who have lost their parents and other family members to “this virus that is so incredibly relentless and unforgiving and it is insidious.”
He went on to share advice for his followers to follow if they contract COVID-19, including to keep social circles small and to be “disciplined” while in quarantine. He promised to answer more questions about his experience with the illness in the future.
The actor also urged people to wear face masks to limit the spread of coronavirus.
“It baffles me that some people out there, including some politicians, will take this idea of wearing masks and make it a political agenda,” he said. “It is a fact and it’s the right thing to do, and it is the responsible thing to do.”
Johnson is just the latest Hollywood star to reveal a positive COVID-19 diagnosis. Actors including Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson, Idris Elba, Lena Dunham and Antonio Banderas are among the dozens who have since recovered from the virus.
Several musicians and other entertainment figures have also fallen ill since the pandemic first swept around the world at the beginning of this year. Some of those cases have proven to be fatal, including Canadian Broadway star Nick Cordero and musician Adam Schlesinger.
—With files from Reuters
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