Coronavirus Survivor Tom Hanks Will Not Stand for You Not Wearing a Mask

Arielle Tschinkel
·4 min read

The United States is, unfortunately, far from being out of the woods when it comes to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noting that cases continue to rise in 36 states across the US. Still, it seems plenty are not complying with mask-wearing and social-distancing protocols, and COVID-19 survivor Tom Hanks simply isn’t having it.

Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, were among the first celebrities to announce they’d tested positive for coronavirus back in March, using their public platforms to help keep fans informed every step of the way since. Now, People reports that in a new press conference for his upcoming movie Greyhound—which will be available to stream via Apple TV on July 10th—he pleaded with people to do their part to help slow the spread of the virus by doing “three simple things.”

“There’s really only three things we can do in order to get to tomorrow: Wear a mask, social distance, wash our hands," Hanks said.

“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," he added. "Don’t be a pussy, get on with it, do your part. It’s very basic.”

View this post on Instagram

Hello folks. @ritawilson and I want to thank everyone here Down Under who are taking such good care of us. 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

A post shared by Tom Hanks (@tomhanks) on Mar 12, 2020 at 7:08pm PDT

Likening these precautions with safety when you get behind the wheel, he added, “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.”

Hanks isn’t the only celeb using their platform to advocate for wearing a mask. Both Patrick Dempsey and Jennifer Aniston have recently taken to Instagram to encourage widespread mask-wearing, with Aniston addressing her nearly 35 million followers with an impassioned plea.

"So many lives have been taken by this virus because we aren’t doing enough,” she wrote in her Instagram caption, adding, “there are many people in our country refusing to take the necessary steps to flatten the curve, and keep each other safe."

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I understand masks are inconvenient and uncomfortable. But don’t you feel that it’s worse that businesses are shutting down... jobs are being lost... health care workers are hitting absolute exhaustion. And so many lives have been taken by this virus because we aren’t doing enough. ⠀ ⠀ I really do believe in the basic goodness of people so I know we can all do this 🥰 BUT still, there are many people in our country refusing to take the necessary steps to flatten the curve, and keep each other safe. People seem worried about their “rights being taken away” by being asked to wear a mask. This simple and effective recommendation is being politicized at the expense of peoples’ lives. And it really shouldn’t be a debate 🙏🏼 ⠀ ⠀ If you care about human life, please... just #wearadamnmask 😷 and encourage those around you to do the same ❤️

A post shared by Jennifer Aniston (@jenniferaniston) on Jun 30, 2020 at 2:18pm PDT

“People seem worried about their ‘rights being taken away’ by being asked to wear a mask,” she wrote, “This simple and effective recommendation is being politicized at the expense of peoples’ lives. And it really shouldn’t be a debate 🙏🏼 If you care about human life, please... just #wearadamnmask 😷 and encourage those around you to do the same ❤️”

As a reminder, the CDC recommends that face masks be worn “in public settings when around people outside of their household, especially when other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.” So listen to your faves and wear the mask every single time. It’s a small step that could make a world of difference.

As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, HelloGiggles is committed to providing accurate and helpful coverage to our readers. As such, some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, we encourage you to use online resources from CDC, WHO, and local public health departments, and visit our coronavirus hub.