Hollywood actor Daniel Dae Kim tests positive for COVID-19 virus: ‘I’m grateful to be alive’ | ABS-CBN

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Hollywood actor Daniel Dae Kim tests positive for COVID-19 virus: ‘I’m grateful to be alive’

Hollywood actor Daniel Dae Kim tests positive for COVID-19 virus: ‘I’m grateful to be alive’

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In a video posted on his Instagram account last March 19, Hollywood actor Daniel Dae Kim revealed that he tested positive for the COVID-19 virus last March 19. Currently in self-isolation in his home in Honolulu, Hawaii since March 15, the Korean-American actor revealed that he is currently under medication and feeling better. Daniel also shared that his entire family has also undergone testing and all have tested negative for the virus.

In his video, the 51-year-old actor, who starred in Lost and Hawaii 5-O, also took the opportunity to remind people to stay indoors in order to stop spreading the disease. He also shed light on the issue of anti-Asian sentiments because of the virus’s roots in China. “Please stop the prejudice and senseless violence against Asian people,” he said during the latter part of his video.

He said,

“For the past several weeks I was in New York shooting a role in a TV series where ironically, I play a doctor who gets recruited to hospital to help patients during a flu pandemic. Now when the news of the virus in America start coming in, that show, like eventually all the others stopped production and when it did, the first thing I wanted to do was go back to Hawaii and my family.

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Now it’s important for you guys to know that I was asymptomatic during all of this time. But as I was close to landing, I started noticing some scratchiness in my throat which is unlike how I usually get sick. So when I landed, I called my family doctor in Hawaii and he told me to monitor my symptoms. To be safe, when I got home, I quarantined myself in a room in the house and tried to rest on my own. But later that night, I started feeling tightness in my chest, body aches, my temperature started to rise. So he then told me to get tested. So the next day I went to a drive through testing facility that had just opened here in Honolulu and the test was given to me by some incredibly professional and kind caregivers. The test itself was really awkward and a little painful because they shove a huge swab into your nose and in your throat but it was worth it because of what I found out.

They told me that I would have my results back in three days and that was Wednesday morning. And in the meantime my doctor prescribed some medication and I went straight home. That was the only time I left my house since arriving back in Hawaii. I self-isolated the entire time. And even though I was with my family, I was in an entirely separate part of the house. That part is important for later.

Just so you guys know, I never went to a hospital. But with the help of the medication and bed rest and liquids and of course my loving family, I didn’t need to. I actually started feeling better the day after and I started feeling a little better the day after that. And today, even though I’m not a 100%, I’m pretty close.

So I was not asymptomatic, which was also another important thing to point out. A lot of younger people can carry the virus without having any symptoms whatsoever. That was not me. I was sick. I still am. But thankfully for me, it wasn’t a matter of life and death. But even though I’m smiling and upbeat right now, for several days I was in bed. So for all those out there, especially teenagers and millennials who think this is not serious, please know that it is. And if you treat this without care, you are potentially endangering the lives of millions of people, including your loved ones. So for the sake of everyone else, please follow the guidelines. Socially distance, self-isolate, stop touching your face, and of course, wash your hands.

Now, I debated for a long time about actually publicly talking about my diagnosis because I’ve read some backlash against those who those who did, saying that they got special treatment. And though I risk that now, let me just say that I never asked for or expected special treatment from anyone and I will add, that I believe that healthcare for all is a right not a privilege. And not just healthcare but quality healthcare. Everyone who meets the qualifications to be tested should be period. Because the virus doesn’t care about race or gender, religion, sexual orientation, whether you’re rich or poor, or you’re immigration status. Only we seem to care about that.

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