Idris Elba discussed his recent coronavirus diagnosis with Oprah this week on a new talk show series, Oprah Talks COVID-19, now streaming on Apple TV+.
In the extended interview, Elba revealed that although he tested positive for the virus earlier this month, and has been self-quarantining ever since to prevent further spreading it, he still hasn’t shown any of the typical symptoms (fever, coughing, etc.) of COVID-19.
“I’m glad you brought that up, because I think that’s a real key component here,” the actor told Oprah over video chat. “I could be in the public, I could be at home with my family, I could be still spreading it, and I have no symptoms.”
Despite a major shortage of coronavirus test kits throughout the globe, Elba was able to receive a test after meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Trudeau, who later tested positive for the virus.
Elba noted that he was around many people, including his extended family and his colleagues, between the time of exposure on March 4th and the time he got tested. Oprah asked him, given the CDC’s labeling of asthma sufferers as “high risk” for COVID-19, if he was concerned at all as an asthmatic.
“It’s a big concern for me; I’ve had asthma all my life,” he said. “Secondly, I’m in higher altitude at the moment, which makes breathing even more difficult.”
Elba’s wife Sabrina then joined him for the call, revealing that she had gotten her COVID-19 test results just hours before. She, too, had tested positive for the coronavirus.
“I’m not surprised — as soon as I heard that Idris was potentially exposed…I was on my way anyway to be with him, I think that was my instinct as a wife,” she said. She says she decided to not isolate herself from Elba in the house where he was quarantined. Both of them are currently staying in New Mexico, where Elba had been filming a now-stalled Netflix project.
