Tom Hanks may have had no trouble getting tested for COVID-19 in Australia, but Heidi Klum is learning that the process is much more difficult in the United States.
In a series of Instagram Stories posted on March 13, the America’s Got Talent judge expressed concerns that she has fallen ill to the coronavirus on the set of the competition show. She describes her symptoms as “a chill, feeling feverish, cough, runny nose.”
Although it’s been reported that AGT will continue production (without a studio audience), Klum is self-quarantining. “Um, I’m just not feeling good, so that’s why I’ve stayed home to not infect any other people,” she said.
Unfortunately, she has no idea if she’s actually suffering from COVID-19, which has been labeled a pandemic by the World Health Organization. “I hope it’s just a cold, I would love to do the corona test, but there just isn’t one here,” she said. “I’ve tried with two different doctors and I just can’t get one.”
Instagram/@heidiklumAccording to Time, there are many factors working against the United States when it comes to testing for the virus. When the first cases of COVID-19 were reported in the U.S., only two labs at the CDC were permitted to conduct COVID-19 testing, using a test developed by the agency’s own researchers. When the CDC tried to expand testing by providing its test kits to state and local public health labs, there were problems with the initial version of the kits, which the CDC then reworked, Time reports.
This week, two of the largest diagnostic commercial labs have begun testing but are still conducting only a few thousand a day.
Meanwhile, over in Australia, Hanks and Rita Wilson have tested positive for the virus and are keeping us posted on their condition via Instagram. On Friday, March 13, they posted a new message of thanks to their doctors.
“Hello folks. @ritawilson and I want to thank everyone here Down Under who are taking such good care of us,” he wrote in an Instagram caption. “We have COVID-19 and are in isolation so we do not spread it to anyone else. There are those for whom it could lead to a very serious illness. We are taking it one day at a time. There are things we can all do to get through this by following the advice of experts and taking care of ourselves and each other, no? Remember, despite all the current events, there is no crying in baseball. Hanx”