Rita Wilson has opened up about being diagnosed with COVID-19.
The actress-singer and her husband Tom Hanks were the first high profile celebrities to go public with their diagnosis. In her first interview since recovering from the infection, Wilson has spoken about the coronavirus symptoms she experienced.
Speaking with CBS This Morning's Gayle King on Tuesday, she talked about the "extreme side effects" of the virus.
"I felt extremely achy, uncomfortable, didn't want to be touched, and then the fever started," she told King.
She also said she lost her sense of taste and smell. At one point, her fever reached 102 degrees and she suffered from "chills like I never had before."
Wilson also talked about being treated with the controversial antimalarial drug chloroquine.
"I can only tell you that I don't know if the drug worked or if it was just time for the fever to break," she said. "The fever did break, but the chloroquine had such extreme side effects. I was completely nauseous and I had vertigo and my muscles felt very weak. I think people have to be very considerate about that drug. We don't really know if it is helpful in this case."
Wilson was first diagnosed alongside Hanks while the two were in Australia. Hanks was working on Baz Luhrmann’s untitled Elvis Presley film at the time.
According to Wilson, Hanks experienced milder symptoms. "He did not have as high a fever," she said. "He did not lose his sense of taste or smell, but it still took us the same time to get through it."
The couple have since returned to Los Angeles. They have both donated blood to assist in the research for a vaccine.
You can watch the full interview below.
