The Young and the Restless, Days of our Lives star Greg Rikaart tests positive for COVID-19

Posted Monday, March 23, 2020 4:53:50 PM

Having been ill and in solo quarantine for over a week, The Young and the Restless star Greg Rikaart (Kevin Fisher; ex-Leo Stark, Days of our Lives) reveals he has tested positive for COVID-19, the strain of coronavirus that has caused a global pandemic. "This has been the hardest experience of my life. "

Fans have been rallying for Greg Rikaart (Kevin Fisher, The Young and the Restless; ex-Leo Stark, Days of our Lives) since he shared on social media a week ago that he had fallen ill. He has been detailing some of the ups and downs of his health condition, and today he revealed that he was able to get tested for COVID-19, and the results came back positive.

"I just tested positive for coronavirus. I am a pretty healthy 43-year-old who doesn't smoke, doesn't drink much, eats well and exercises regularly and this has been the hardest experience of my life," he shares. "Two+ weeks ago, everyone in my house had a bit of a cough and my son came home from school with a high fever. Everyone recovered, but I deteriorated. I isolated from my family and have been in solo quarantine since Saturday the 14th. I had a fever for 11 days, difficulty breathing and was diagnosed with pneumonia."

He continues, "I'm confident that I have finally turned the proverbial corner and am fever free today for the first time since this all started. I was told to stay isolated for another 72 hours before I acclimate back into my family. So, nice try coronavirus, but I have another 4-5 decades worth of experiences to have with these guys."

Rikaart also shares gratitude to everyone for the support he's received this past week, writing, "I want to thank you all for the well wishes and I hope you heed the warnings. Stay safe, stay healthy and stay inside."

Rikaart previously took to social media to share his concerns about not having been able to be tested for COVID-19 when his symptoms first started to appear.

View this post on Instagram

So in case you missed it on Twitter, here goes. I’ve been mildly symptomatic since Friday/Saturday. 100.5 fever, tightness in my chest and a wet cough complete with some green phlegm. Before the fever, on Wednesday of last week, my dr said I had seasonal allergies. By Friday, he prescribed a zpak, and yesterday, after zero abatement in symptoms following 3 days of antibiotics I tried to get in to see my doctor again, and hopefully be diagnosed with the flu but also be tested for coronavirus. THREE offices refused to see me, including my primary GP, b/c I didn’t meet the CDC threshold of: 1. Having travelled internationally in the past few weeks. 2. Having a fever of 102. 3. Cough. Two offices have me virtual appointments and said only to come in in conditions deteriorate b/c kits are a finite resource right now. Side note, other countries are testing anyone who wants to be tested b/c many ppl infected are walking around asymptomatically. The good news is that the tightness and fever have reduced today somewhat BUT since my symptoms started I’ve not only been isolated from the world, but isolated from my son and my husband. I found a doctor who makes house calls to come over today. I’m hoping I get diagnosed with the flu so I can relieve my SUPER DAD of a husband from three days of zero relief. I’m waiting to find out if there is a coronavirus kit avail too which will determines which level of isolation I need to employ. Such a colossal failure by our federal government that this is where we are. I realize that I’m in a fortunate position to find a house call doctor but basic healthcare should absolutely not be a luxury. Fingers crossed that I have the flu! Not something you hear everyday, huh?

A post shared by Greg Rikaart (@gregrikaart) on

The coronavirus pandemic has affected the daytime community in many ways, including prompting all four daytime dramas to suspend production. The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful are currently in the middle of a two-week hiatus, General Hospital is set to remain dark until early April, and Days of our Lives has stopped filming for the foreseeable future. As Soap Central previously reported, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has announced that the Daytime Emmy Awards will no longer be happening this June.

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