Lee Brice Details His Experience With COVID-19: ‘Well That Sucks’

It was reported last week that Lee Brice had tested positive for COVID-19 just days ahead of the CMA Awards, where he was scheduled to perform with Carly Pearce. Instead, Charles Kelley filled in for him, and Brice has since been quarantining in his barn. “I was like, ‘Well that sucks,’” Brice told PEOPLE of receiving his positive diagnosis on Nov. 8.

“I thought, ‘Oh well, I’ll just go to the farm and quarantine in the barn.’ I’ve got my bed and my couch and my TV and my kitchen and a shower and I’m good. I didn’t feel anything,” he continued, sharing that later that night, he began experiencing symptoms including body aches and pains, fever and trouble sleeping.

“I literally woke up all wet,” he recalled. “I wasn’t shivering and I don’t think the fever got high, but I did wake up feeling like I sweat out a fever or something.” The singer felt “fine” for the rest of the week, comparing the rest of his experience to “a very mild cold or allergies.”

“I’ve talked to some people that have had it really bad,” he noted. “My manager had it a few weeks ago and he was down. He could not get out of bed, it hurt to breathe, he was down, down, down. I don’t know if it was Halloween or the hot weather that came back in. All I know that this week, I’ve heard about more people having it compared to the last nine months. Everyone I know has had it.”

The barn Brice spent his quarantine in is just down the road from his house, which means that his wife, Sara, has been able to bring their three children, sons Takoda, 12, and Ryker, 6, and daughter Trulee, 3, by to see their dad.

“Sara will bring them down here, so I can see them out the window,” Brice said, adding that his family has also been quarantining out of caution. “I just need to see them. All I want to do is go hug them and kiss them.”

The 41-year-old added that his wife is doing “OK” amid his isolation. “It’s a lot,” he admitted. “Here I am, in the barn sitting around doing nothing and she’s with all three kids all day. She is a rock and an angel. She has her moments. She gets frustrated because she doesn’t have time for herself … She doesn’t have time to take a bath. She just wants a bath! She wants five minutes. And I get it.”

Brice’s quarantine ends on Wednesday, just in time for him to promote his new album, Hey World, which will be released on Nov. 20. “I feel fortunate,” he said. “It’s nice being out on my farm. It’s been 75 degrees. The deer are walking, and the bass are biting. I’m one of the lucky ones. I guess, so far. I’m crossing my fingers.”