Tom Hanks has criticised people refusing to wear a mask to prevent the spread of coronavirus, saying “shame on you”.

The actor, who tested positive for COVID-19 with his wife Rita Wilson in March, spoke of what individuals can do to help during the pandemic while promoting his new film Greyhound.

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“There’s really only three things we can do in order to get to tomorrow: Wear a mask, social distance, wash our hands,” Hanks said to People Magazine.

“Those things are so simple, so easy, if anybody cannot find it in themselves to practice those three very basic things – I just think shame on you. Don’t be a p—-, get on with it, do your part.

“It’s very basic. If you’re driving a car, you don’t go too fast, you use your turn signal and you avoid hitting pedestrians. My Lord, it’s common sense.”

On his experience with the illness, Hanks explained the symptoms he and Wilson suffered from. “We had about 10 days of very uncomfortable symptoms. Not life-threatening, we’re happy to say,” he said.

“We were isolated in order to keep an eye on ourselves because if our temperatures had spiked, if our lungs had filled, if any number of things had gone wrong with this, we would have needed expert medical care. We didn’t.”

Hanks added: “I guess we were model recoverers from COVID-19, but we were also isolated so that we would not give it to anybody else that we came in contact with, and since then have been doing the same isolating, social distancing that is being asked of the world so, we are fine.”