Jackson Browne has tested positive for coronavirus. The legendary singer-songwriter joins a growing list of celebrities with the disease. He first went public with the news on Tuesday, speaking at length about his diagnosis to Rolling Stone. “As soon as I had a small cough and a temperature, I tested [for COVID-19],” Browne revealed while recuperating in his Los Angeles home. “My symptoms are really pretty mild, so I don’t require any kind of medication and certainly not hospitalization or anything like that. So many people that have it aren’t going to be tested. They don’t have symptoms, but they might have it and might be able to pass it on.”
“That’s what younger readers need to understand: they need to take part in the global response to stop the spread,” Browne continued. “That means not going anywhere, not getting into contact with anybody, not seeing anybody.”
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The 71-year-old Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member is the latest celebrity to have tested positive for coronavirus, as well as address the issue directly. The first were Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, who shared their diagnoses on March 12 while they were on location in Australia.
As fans flooded their replies with well-wishes, it also inspired Idris Elba to go public with news that he’d tested positive as well. Several other people in the public eye have also been tested, who have tried to use their platform to encourage people to self-isolate, practice social distancing and to take care of one another during this unprecedented situation.
With so much of day-to-day life uprooted, from grocery stores to online retailers changing their protocol to major film and TV productions getting delayed (in some cases indefinitely), most have been encouraging and even uplifting, others, like Michael Rapaport, have taken a much more direct approach when addressing the potential severity of the pandemic.
While it wasn’t coronavirus related, following the death of fellow musician Kenny Rogers on Friday, his surviving family has kept his spirit of philanthropy alive and asked that his fans pay their respects by donating to relief efforts aimed at containing the highly-contagious disease.
As of Monday, there were 44,183 reported cases of coronavirus in the U.S., with 544 confirmed deaths, according to The CDC. The agency also offers a number of preventative tips online to help slow the spread.
