Rita Wilson opens up about her coronavirus symptoms, warns of the side effects of chloroquine drug

Rita Wilson opens up about her coronavirus symptoms, warns of the side effects of chloroquine drug

Rita Wilson has opened up about her battle with coronavirus for the first time since she and her husband, actor Tom Hanks tested positive for the virus.

Hanks and Wilson were the first celebrities to have tested positive for the virus while they were in Australia in early March. The couple spent over a week at a hospital in Queensland and returned to LA only after they had fully recovered several weeks later.

Now, while speaking at the morning show of CBS' 'The Talk' with Gayle King, Wilson recalled the symptoms she had while she was infected and the side effects of the drug chloroquine.

"I was very tired. I felt extremely achy," Wilson detailed her symptoms to King and added "Uncomfortable, didn't want to be touched and then the fever started. Chills like I've never had before. Looking back, I realize I was also losing my sense of taste and smell which I didn't realize at the time."

Wilson also revealed that the fever reached its highest temperature about nine days following her positive test results. "I think it got close to 102," she said.

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The actress revealed she was given chloroquine, a drug that has been used to prevent and treat malaria and is now being studied as a possible COVID-19 treatment.

Adding a word of caution about the drug, Wilson stated that she wasn't sure if her fever subsided due to it. "I can only tell you that I don't know if the drug worked or if it was just time for my fever to break, but my fever did break," she explained. "But the chloroquine had extreme side effects."

Wilson recalled that after the drug was administered to her, she felt "completely nauseous" and suffered from vertigo."I could not walk," she said. "My muscles felt very weak."

"I think people have to be very considerate about that drug," the star added. "We don't really know if it's helpful in this case."

Wilson stated that her husband Tom Hanks had "milder symptoms" but took almost the same time like her to recover.