Ian Lipkin, who served as the chief scientific consult for the 2011 pandemic thriller, reminds others that the very best tool people have to fight the virus is isolation and confinement.
- Mar 27, 2020
AceShowbiz - Ian Lipkin, the researcher who served as a medical consultant on the 2011 film "Contagion", has tested positive for coronavirus.
Soderbergh's 2011 pandemic thriller stars Gwyneth Paltrow as one of the earliest victims of a deadly pandemic virus, which she brings to the U.S. - with the actress herself drawing parallels between the script and the current global health crisis.
Speaking on Fox Business, Lipkin also said the situation has, "become very personal for me too, because I have Covid-19 as of yesterday. And this is miserable."
He added: (If) it can hit me, it can hit anybody."
Lipkin was the chief scientific consult for "Contagion", also starring Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, and Matt Damon, which was noted for its scientific accuracy.
In the movie, Elliott Gould played a research scientist named Ian, who was based on Lipkin.
Back in January, Lipkin went to China to investigate coronavirus and self-quarantined for two weeks after returning home. However, he said that while he had an inkling of where he contracted coronavirus, "it doesn't matter" where he got it as the disease has spread all over the United States.
He added: "(The) very best tool we have is isolation and confinement. It’s extraordinarily important that we harmonise whatever restrictions we have across the country."
"We have porous borders between states and cities and unless we’re consistent, we’re not going to get ahead of this thing," Lipkin shared.
Officials from the World Health Organisation (WHO) are urging people to stay home and practice social distancing amid the global health crisis.
