Tom Hanks hosts coronavirus comedy during the Quarantine edition of SNL

Recovered successfully from the Covid-19 infection, actor Tom Hanks took a dig at himself, admitting he had become “America’s dad” as no one wanted to come close to him.

“It is good to be here, though it also very weird to be here hosting ‘Saturday Night Live’ at home,” Hanks said, speaking from his kitchen. “It is a strange time to try and be funny, but trying to be funny is ‘SNL’s whole thing.”

Hanks sported a close-cropped haircut which he said was done for a movie, announced last month that he and his wife Rita Wilson tested positive for the virus. They recuperated while in Australia.

On the show, the Oscar winner said he had to get used to learning his temperature in degrees Celsius, where 36 was good but 38 was bad, “like Hollywood treats female actresses.”

Sounding optimistic and upbeat, the actor recognised the efforts of healthcare and service industry workers. “We’re in this for the duration, and we will get through this together. We are going to thank our hospital workers, our first responders, and all our helpers. The supermarket stockers. The people who deliver our food. The people who are making the takeout for us. The men and women who are keeping this country running at a time when we need them more than ever before,” he said. “We’re going to take care of them and we’re going to take care of each other, so let’s try to now just enjoy the show.”