Daniel Dae Kim, known for his role in TV series ‘Lost’ and ‘Hawaii Five-0,’ has tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP virus.
The star is staying optimistic and has said he hopes to develop immunity to the virus so he can donate his antibodies to vaccine research efforts.
In the video accompanying the post, the 51-year-old said that he was on his way home to Hawaii after he was in New York City for several weeks shooting a role in a TV series, ‘New Amsterdam.’ Production was stopped due to the virus.
Kim said he felt a scratchiness in his throat as his plane touched down in Hawaii, and noted that he was asymptomatic up until then.
“When I landed, I called my family doctor in Hawaii and he told me to monitor my symptoms,” he said. “To be safe, when I got home, I quarantined myself in a room in the house and tried to rest on my own.”
He said that later on the same night, he experienced symptoms of chest-tightness, body aches, and what felt like a high temperature starting up.
Kim was tested at a new public drive-thru testing center in Honolulu. His diagnosis came back positive three days later. He said that his doctor also gave him some medication, although he did not elaborate.
The father of two noted that he has continued his self-quarantine, including being in a separate room from his family, and managed his symptoms without going to a hospital with the help of medication, bed rest, liquids, and his family at a distance.
“I started feeling a little better the day after that, and today, even though I’m not 100 percent, I’m pretty close,” he said.
The TV star then turned his message to the younger population to encourage them to follow the guidelines of social distancing and proper hygiene measures.
“For all those out there especially teenagers and millennials who think this is not serious, please note that it is, and if you treat this without care, you are potentially endangering the lives of millions of people especially your loved ones,” he said.
Kim also said that he hopes he can build up immunity to COVID-19.
“With any luck, I will have actually built up an immunity to this virus when all of this is said and done. So I may not actually need the vaccine when it comes out,“ he said. ”I hope it does soon though, and I will gladly contribute in any way I can, including donating antibodies in the pursuit of finding a vaccine for everyone.”
“It could have been stopped right where it came from, China,” Trump said during a White House press conference on Thursday. “The world is paying a very big price for what they did,” he said in reference to a question about CCP officials not sharing information sooner about the outbreak when it started.
“It would have been much better if we had known about this a number of months earlier,” the president said, adding that U.S. officials could have moved more quickly if the regime shared information earlier about the CCP virus, which emerged in Wuhan.
Chinese authorities did not confirm human-to-human transmission until Jan. 20—almost three weeks after the disease was first officially reported on Dec. 31, 2019. The first patient reported with the virus exhibited symptoms on Dec. 1.
