Actor Kristofer Hivju, who played the role of Tormund in the critically acclaimed television series 'Game of Thrones', has contracted the novel coronavirus and has been quarantined.

The actor currently resides in Norway and has self-isolated along with his family, upon hearing the news. He reportedly stated after the diagnosis, "We are in good health - I only have mild symptoms of a cold. There are people at higher risk for who this virus might be a devastating diagnosis, so I urge all of you to be extremely careful; wash your hands, keep 1,5 meters distance from others, go in quarantine; just do everything you can to stop the virus from spreading. Together we can fight this virus and avert a crisis at our hospitals. Please take care of each other, keep your distance, and stay healthy!"

The novel coronavirus, now officially called COVID-19, has claimed the lives of more than 7900 people and infected over 198000 people across the world. The virus was first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, in China. As the death toll and overall cases began rising rapidly across the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global health emergency and the outbreak has now been labelled a pandemic.

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Greetings from Norway! Sorry to say that I, today, have tested positive for COVID19, Corona virus. My familiy and I are self-isolating at home for as long as it takes. We are in good health - I only have mild symptoms of a cold. There are people at higher risk for who this virus might be a devastating diagnosis, so I urge all of you to be extremely careful; wash your hands, keep 1,5 meters distance from others, go in quarantine; just do everything you can to stop the virus from spreading. Together we can fight this virus and avert a crisis at our hospitals. Please take care of each other, keep your distance, and stay healthy! Please visit your country's Center for Disease Control's website, and follow the regulations for staying safe and protecting not just yourselves, but our entire community, and especially those at risk like the elderly and people with pre-existing conditions. @grymolvaerhivju #fightcorona #solidarity #takecare #folkehelseinstituttet Thanks to @panoramaagency

A post shared by Kristofer Hivju (@khivju) on Mar 16, 2020 at 1:48pm PDT