American actor Daniel Dae Kim announced on Thursday that he has tested positive for COVID-19, the disease that is caused by the deadly coronavirus. Kim is known for his roles on Hawaii Five-0 and Lost took to social media to share the news. He posted a 10-minute video on Instagram and said that he contacted the virus while filming the series New Amsterdam in New York City. Ironically, he is playing a doctor in the series who is working on a flu pandemic. In his post, he also appealed to people to not make the pandemic a racial disease. He spoke out against the xenophobia and anti-Asian racist feelings that have arisen after the coronavirus crisis began.
In the video, he said, “Please, please stop the prejudice and senseless violence against Asian people. Randomly beating elderly, sometimes homeless Asian Americans is cowardly, heartbreaking and it’s inexcusable.” He also took a dig at US President Donald Trump’s decision to refer to COVID-19 as ‘the Chinese virus’.
He further added, “Yes, I’m Asian. And yes, I have coronavirus. But I did not get it from China, I got it in America. In New York City,” Kim said in the Instagram video. “Despite what certain political leaders want to call it, I don’t consider the place where it’s from as important as the people who are sick and dying. If I did, I would call this thing the ‘New York virus,’ but that would be silly, right? I’m grateful to be alive and healthy. It gives me hope that through our collective efforts we can beat this thing and flatten the curve.”
Kim was born in South Korea but raised in the US. The 51-year-old actor said that he began feeling ill while returning home on a flight to Hawaii and later began experiencing symptoms of COVID-19. He said he self-isolated since returning and left only to go to a drive-through a coronavirus testing facility in Honolulu.
(Source: Instagram)
