British actor, Idris Elba’s wife, Sabrina Dhowre has announced that she tested positive for coronavirus, few days after her husband tested positive for the same virus.
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey through FaceTime for an episode of “Oprah Talks: COVID-19” on Apple TV, the couple explained their decision to stay together.
Recall that the couple received backlashes online after they posted a video explaining Idris Elba’s confirmed test results, with his wife sitting close by.
Sabrina Elba told Winfrey that it was her choice to stay with her husband, though medical experts have advised that those who test positive for coronavirus isolate away from others to slow the spread.
“I could have made the decision to put myself maybe in a separate room or stay away, and I’m sure that people are making those decisions. And they’re tough decisions to make,” Sabrina Elba said. “But I made the decision to want to be with him, and you know, still touch him.”
Idris Elba explained that they had been together on the day of his probable exposure to the person who he was in contact with that tested positive, and had been together until he left to begin filming a new movie.
“If I had caught it, she had certainly caught it in that time period as well,” Idris Elba told Oprah. “People were right to have highlighted that spatial distancing is important. I think given the context of the video, which was telling the world what has happened to us, we weren’t thinking about that specifically.”
Both say they feel well and have not experienced symptoms of COVID-19, the disease associated with coronavirus. Sabrina Elba said that she feels the equivalent of seasonal allergies that might be symptoms, but she feels fine overall.
They both acknowledged that they could still fall ill at any point.
The “Luther” and “The Wire” actor first revealed he tested positive after being exposed on Monday and has posted updates on his social media for fans. Idris Elba has used his platform, which includes nearly 3 million Twitter followers, to inform people on the seriousness of the pandemic.
In a video Tuesday, he pointed out commenters who spread the false rumor that black people can’t catch the coronavirus. Idris Elba reiterated the message to stop misinformation to Winfrey on Sunday.
“I’d rather go out with a positive, knowing that other people benefitted from, you know, the messaging that we’re trying to put out,” Idris Elba said. “You know, stop trolling people, stop sending misinformation. Stop, you know, writing these incredible stories about, you know, conspiracy theories.”
