‘Mentally, it hit me very bad,’ says Idris Elba on having Covid-19

British actor Idris Elba has spoken about the trauma he and his wife went through after testing positive for the coronavirus in March.

In an interview with the Radio Times magazine, he said the mental impact of that on both himself and his wife was pretty traumatic.

“I was asymptomatic so I didn’t get the major symptoms everyone else got. Mentally, it hit me very bad, because a lot was unknown about it.”

Elba said the fact that little was known about the deadly respiratory infection, and how it affects its victims was extremely worrying, and took its toll on his and his 32-year-old wife’s mental health.

“I felt very compelled to speak about it, just because it was such an unknown [disease].”

This morning I tested positive for Covid 19. I feel ok, I have no symptoms so far but have been isolated since I found out about my possible exposure to the virus. Stay home people and be pragmatic. I will keep you updated on how I’m doing ???????????????? No panic. pic.twitter.com/Lg7HVMZglZ

— Idris Elba (@idriselba) March 16, 2020

Although the 47-year-old actor was among the first major international celebrities to contract the virus, he was the first to actually make his status public.

Several celebrities were also struck down with Covid-19 in the same month as Elba – including Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson, pop star Pink and Britain’s Prince Charles.

(Compiled by Hayden Horner)

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