Six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has put himself under self-isolation after coming in contact with two people who were later tested positive for deadly coronavirus (COVID-19).
The 35-year-old took to his official Twitter handle and posted a statement confirming his decision to lock himself down at home as a precautionary measures.
"Hey guys, I hope you're all staying positive, and keeping busy and healthy. There's been some speculation about my health, after I was at an event where two people later tested positive for Coronavirus. I wanted to let you know that I'm doing well, feeling healthy and working out twice a day. I have zero symptoms, and it's now been 17 days since I saw Sophie and Idris. I have been in touch with Idris and happy to hear he is ok," he wrote.
Hamilton, however, clarified that he has not undergone any test as of now due to limited amount of tests available and decided to opt for social distancing.
"I did speak to my doctor and double checked if I needed to take a test but the truth is, there is a limited amount of tests available and there are people who need it more than I do, especially when I wasn't showing any symptoms at all. So what I've done is keep myself isolated this past week, actually since practice was cancelled last Friday and kept my distance from people," the Mercedes driver wrote.
Hamilton also called on the world community to regularly wash their hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds in order to stop the spread of novel virus.
"The most important thing everyone can do is stay positive, social distance yourself as best you can, self isolate if you need to, and regularly wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Thank you for all the messages. I'm sending you positivity and love from afar. Keep safe. #TeamLH," he concluded.
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) March 21, 2020
Earlier, season-opening Australian Grand Prix was cancelled while races in Bahrain, Vietnam, China, Netherlands and Spain were all postponed due to coronavirus outbreak. Meanwhile, the Formula One on Friday also postponed the Monaco Grand Prix (May 24) for the first time since 1954.
The virus outbreak, which was first reported in December 2019 from Wuhan city of China, has so far claimed the lives of more than 11,000 people and has affected more than 2,75,000 persons globally.
