Daniel Dae Kim shares details of Covid-19 recovery and tells world to 'put people over politics'

The actor confirms he will remain in self-isolation until Monday as he shares his treatment plan

Daniel Dae Kim says he is recovering well from Covid-19. 

Daniel Dae Kim has urged people to "take care of one another" after revealing he was starting to feel better after testing positive for Covid-19. The American-Korean actor, 51, who confirmed last Thursday he had the disease caused by coronavirus, says he is over the worst of his symptoms.

In the seven-minute clip on Instagram, the actor – known for his roles on Lost and Hawaii Five-O – says he feels "practically back to normal".

"I am lucky enough to be in the 80 per cent of diagnosed cases that have not required hospitalisation," Kim tells his 440,000 followers. "That’s an important statistic. I’ve pretty much been in bed taking my medication. As of now, I have no symptoms other than a little residual congestion."

As of Sunday, there are more than 300,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases globally, with more than 13,500 deaths recorded. About 96,000 patients have recovered, with nearly one billion people across the world confined to their homes in a bid to stem the spread of the virus.

Kim confirmed he has been in self-isolation and will remain apart from his family until Monday.

"According to my expert representative, Lauren, from the Hawaii State Department of Health, with whom I’ve been talking every single day, I’m to remain in self-isolation until Monday," he says. "According to our state’s guidelines, self-isolation from my family can stop three days after the respiratory symptoms disappear without the help of drugs, and seven days from when the symptoms started, whichever is lower."

The actor says his family remain symptom-free and confirms that once he is out of isolation, he will adhere to any curfews and community guidelines.

"It just means I’m able to interact with my family again," he says.

Noting that he was not a medical professional – "though I have played them on TV," he jokes – Kim also shares the treatment plan he used in his recovery. He urges people to check with a doctor as soon as they show symptoms.

As part of his "drug cocktail", Kim reveals he took the antiviral Tamiflu, the antibiotic Azibact, a glycopyrrolate inhaler, and what he describes as his "secret weapon", hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug.

The US's Food and Drug Administration hasn't approved the use of antimalarials to treat Covid-19. Administered in large doses, the drug can be poisonous and doctors are urging patients against self-medicating. Nigeria has reported two cases of chloroquine poisoning.

"This has been used with great success in Korea in their fight against the coronavirus," Kim says of the antimalarial drug. "I won’t say that it’s a cure and I won’t say definitely that you should go out and use it, but what I will say is that I believe it was crucial to my recovery."

Kim also implores his followers to give whatever they can to help the global pandemic. "There just aren’t enough [Covid-19] tests for everyone who needs them – this continues to be a serious problem in our country, not to mention the general shortage of medical supplies."

The actor says the shortage "mystifies me as we had a several month headstart in preparing for this outbreak".

Kim revealed last week that he began feeling ill after returning to Hawaii from New York, where he was filming the series New Amsterdam, in which he plays a doctor working to fight against a flu pandemic.

At the time, he urged people to push back against the anti-Asian prejudice and racism that has risen in the US since the coronavirus pandemic began.

"Please stop the prejudice and senseless violence against Asian people," Kim, who is also executive producer of the show The Good Doctor, said. "Randomly beating elderly, sometimes homeless, Asian-Americans is cowardly, heartbreaking and it's inexcusable."

However, in his latest update, Kim says he will not address politics on the social media platform at this time.

"My political beliefs may not be the same as yours but especially in times like this, what’s most important is that we put people over politics and take care of one another," he says. "It’s in that spirit that I share this information with you."