Out 'Young and Restless' Star Says He Has Coronavirus
Soap opera star Greg Rikaart let his followers on social media know that he has coronavirus.
The openly gay actor, who appears on "The Young and the Restless," revealed that he had tested positive for the illness.
In an Instagram post from before his official diagnosis, the actor described his symptoms and early attempts to treat his ailment, which was initially thought to be seasonal allergies and which Rikaart was, at the time, hopeful might turn out to be the flu:
"100.5 fever, tightness in my chest and a wet cough complete with some green phlegm. Before the fever, on Wednesday of last week, my dr said I had seasonal allergies. By Friday, he prescribed a zpak, and yesterday, after zero abatements in symptoms following 3 days of antibiotics I tried to get in to see my doctor again, and hopefully be diagnosed with the flu but also be tested for coronavirus."
The post continued with a description of how hard it was to obtain adequate medical care, and to obtain a test that would show whether he was suffering from COVD-19 (the medical term for the novel coronavirus):
THREE offices refused to see me, including my primary GP, b/c I didn't meet the CDC threshold of: 1. Having traveled internationally in the past few weeks. 2. Having a fever of 102. 3. Cough. Two offices have me virtual appointments and said only to come in in conditions deteriorate b/c kits are a finite resource right now. Side note, other countries are testing anyone who wants to be tested b/c many ppl infected are walking around asymptomatically. The good news is that the tightness and fever have reduced today somewhat BUT since my symptoms started I've not only been isolated from the world, but isolated from my son and my husband. I found a doctor who makes house calls to come over today...
I realize that I'm in a fortunate position to find a house call doctor but basic healthcare should absolutely not be a luxury.
In a later post, reports CNN, the actor confirmed his coronavirus suspicions, saying he had been diagnosed with the illness by a doctor.
He also provided more detail about how the illness progressed in his family, hitting him the hardest:
Two+ weeks ago, everyone in my house had a bit of a cough and my son came home from school with a high fever. Everyone recovered, but I deteriorated. I isolated from my family and have been in solo quarantine since Saturday the 14th. I had a fever for 11 days, difficulty breathing and was diagnosed with pneumonia.
Rikaart added that he is now on the upswing, the CNN article said.