Hugh Jackman breaks the bad news as Broadway shows canceled
New York, New York - Hugh Jackman has Covid-19, he announced Tuesday on social media. The actor was fully vaccinated and got his booster shot at the beginning of December.
"I just wanted you to hear from me that I tested positive this morning for covid," said the star of Broadway's The Music Man, who was wearing a loose-fitting black mask in the brief video.
"My symptoms are like a cold. I have a scratchy throat and a bit of a runny nose, but I'm fine."
The mask slipped more than once in the video, revealing puffy bags under the 53-year-old performer's eyes.
Jackman said he was going to do all he could to "get better, ASAP." He said he'd be back on stage and "heading to River City" as soon as he was cleared to do so.
Meanwhile, after announcing the cancellation of all shows through Saturday, The Music Man company tweeted that Jackman would be back onstage January 6.
Various Broadway productions – including Hamilton, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Tina, Ain't Too Proud, Free Style Love Supreme, and Mrs. Doubtfire – have been forced to shutter temporarily in recent weeks due to Covid-19 cases among cast and crew.
Jagged Little Pill, Waitress, and Thoughts of a Colored Man were among the shows that closed for good.
In the past week, New York City has seen an average of 20,743 confirmed and probable new coronavirus cases daily, according to the city's health website, as the highly transmissible Omicron variant sweeps through the US from the East Coast.
Cover photo: Screenshot/Twitter/Hugh Jackman