Rita Wilson on harrowing coronavirus battle and side effects of anti-malarial drug

Acclaimed American actor and singer Rita Wilson drew concern after she along with husband Tom Hanks contracted the novel coronavirus.

After recovering from the infectious disease in Australia and returning home to Los Angeles, the 63-year-old gave her first interview where she detailed her recovery process and the spoke about the ‘extreme side effects’ of the anti-malarial drug she was prescribed.

Talking to CBS This Morning, Wilson disclosed that her fever had shot up to 102 degrees following a nine-day period of her being sick. This resulted in the doctors prescribing her an anti-malarial pill, chloroquine, which was approved in the United States back in 1949 and is now under examination as a possible treatment for Covid-19.

"I know people have been talking about this drug, but I can only tell you that I don't know if the drug worked or it was just time for the fever to break," she said.

The drug has also been given a nod of approval by US President Donald Trump and CEO of Tesla Elon Musk, as a top contender for the virus’ treatment.

However, chloroquine has been warned by scientists to be leading to extreme side effects, which the actor also experienced during her recovery after the ingestion of the pill.

"My fever did break, but the chloroquine had such extreme side effects. I was completely nauseous, and I had vertigo. I could not walk, and my muscles felt very weak,” she told during the interview.

"I think people have to be very considerate about that drug. We don't really know if it's helpful in this case,” she added.

Shedding light on her husband’s symptoms, Wilson revealed that while his case was milder, it took them both the same amount of time to fight the disease.

"It was somebody — they said — that Tom and I were both exposed to at the same time. We don't know when that could've been or where, but all I can is all of our close contacts — family, our work team — no one has tested positive," she said.

Wilson also added that while she remains unsure of who they contracted the disease from, prior to them testing positive, they had visited Sydney’s two most popular tourist locations.