The Young and the Restless Star Greg Rikaart Tests Positive for Coronavirus: 'I Deteriorated'

The Young and the Restless star Greg Rikaart has tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

The actor opened up about the diagnosis in an Instagram post on Monday, writing, “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.”

Rikaart — who shares 4-year-old son Montgomery Argo with husband Robert Sudduth — explained that he and his family first started showing symptoms of the highly contagious respiratory virus more than two weeks ago. At the time, “everyone in my house had a bit of a cough and my son came home from school with a high fever,” he wrote in his post.

“Everyone recovered, but I deteriorated,” Rikaart shared. “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.”

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Confident that he’s “finally turned the proverbial corner,” the star said Monday is the first day he’s been “fever-free” since becoming sick.

“I was told to stay isolated for another 72 hours before I acclimate back into my family,” he wrote. “So, nice try coronavirus, but I have another 4-5 decades worth of experiences to have with these guys.”

Rikaart had been documenting his illness on social media since last week. Last Tuesday, he told his followers in an Instagram post that he’s been “mildly symptomatic” for days, writing that he had “100.5 fever, tightness in my chest and a wet cough complete with some green phlegm.”

He wrote on March 17, “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,” he shared. “Two offices have me virtual appointments and said only to come in in conditions deteriorate b/c kits are a finite resource right now.”

“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,” he wrote at the time. “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.”

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On Wednesday, Rikaart shared a photo of his temperature reading of 99.1 degrees on a digital thermometer.

“We’re getting there. Feeling better today. Thank you ALL for the words of support. It’s really helped. That and the rest, water, vitamins, minerals, Aleve and Netflix,” he captioned the picture. “Stay well and indoors. I’m talking specially to the boomers and millennials!”

As of March 23, there have been at least 39,819 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States and 458 deaths.

As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes ,PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from CDC, WHO, and local public health departments and visit our coronavirus hub.