Richard Wilkins has hit back at critics who say he shouldn’t have been tested for coronavirus four times in less than three weeks.
After Richard shared a picture to Instagram of himself being tested last week, his followers accused him of ‘using up’ testing kits.
The Weekend Today host, 65, has been in self-isolation since announcing he his first positive test on March 15. Despite his diagnosis, he is yet to show any symptoms.
‘I’m just doing as I’m instructed!’ Richard Wilkins has hit back at fans after they slammed him for being tested for coronavirus FOUR TIMES and using up testing kits despite being asymptomatic
‘Stop using all the tests up please. There is not enough tests to go around. Stay inside longer, you’re not that special,’ one critic wrote.
Richard responded to the follower by saying he was just following doctor’s orders.
‘Just doing as I’m instructed,’ he wrote.
Outraged: ‘Stop using all the tests up please. There is not enough tests to go around. Stay inside longer, your (sic) not that special,’ one follower wrote on Richard’s Instagram
Another person asked: ‘Why is it that you have been tested three times, yet there is a shortage of test kits for COVID-19 worldwide, including Australia?’
A third follower unfairly accused Richard of being tested four times because of his celebrity status.
‘You can get tested three times but they won’t test the average person showing symptoms?’ they wrote.
Doing the right thing: Richard responded to one fan and said he was following doctor’s orders
Richard said last week that he didn’t want to use too many testing kits because doing so would ‘soak up resources’.
He added that he won’t be leaving his home until he has been given the all-clear.
The entertainment reporter also slammed regulations that allow asymptomatic patients to interact with others, calling the advice ‘irresponsible’.
‘The suggestion is that days after the last symptom, people should ”assume” that they’re over this thing and “proceed with caution!”‘ he said.
He wants the all-clear: In his original post, Richard said that he didn’t want to use up the testing kits and ‘soak up resources.’ But he also told fans that he didn’t want to leave self-isolation until he has been given the all-clear from the deadly virus, to not put others at risk
‘I find this totally unacceptable and irresponsible! I completely understand the fact that the last thing the health department wants to do is spend days retesting people like me and God knows that I don’t want to soak up resources.
‘But I don’t see how I can walk out my front door until I have a clean “bill of health!” I know the health system is fighting a huge battle and resources are stretched, but in clear conscience… I can’t put others at risk… until I’m assured that I’m not positive anymore!’
Unimpressed: The TV personality went on to slam regulations that allow asymptomatic patients to interact with others, calling the advice, ‘irresponsible’
A NSW Health spokesperson told News Corp earlier this week that people with the virus can leave self-isolation after 10 days, if they have been symptom-free for at least three days.
‘For confirmed cases with mild illness, they can now be released from self-isolation if at least 10 days have passed since the onset of symptoms and there has been resolution of all symptoms of the acute illness for the previous 72 hours,’ the spokesperson said.
They added that follow-up testing is now only required for healthcare workers. Previously, two negative tests were required for all cases.
Close contact: While it’s impossible to know with 100 per cent certainty where Richard caught the virus from, he did ‘briefly’ meet singer Rita Wilson backstage at her Sydney Opera House concert on March 7. Rita and her husband, actor Tom Hanks, tested positive for COVID-19 on March 12
While it’s impossible to know with 100 per cent certainty where Richard caught coronavirus from, he did ‘briefly’ meet singer Rita Wilson backstage at her Sydney Opera House concert on March 7.
Rita and her husband, actor Tom Hanks, tested positive for COVID-19 on March 12. However they were given the all-clear from the virus and are now back in the US after recovering in isolation in Australia.
As of Tuesday morning, there are 4,459 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Australia, including 19 deaths.
Pandemic: As of Tuesday morning, there are 4,459 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Australia, including 19 deaths