Queen’s Brian May Has COVID-19: ‘A Truly Horrible Few Days’

Queen guitarist Brian May announced on Instagram Saturday that he tested positive for COVID-19. May, 74, shared a picture of the positive test, adding that he has felt some symptoms. Just a few hours later, May said he was feeling better, and reminded his followers to get a COVID vaccine and booster shot. The news comes as the U.K. is experiencing another jump in cases as the omicron variant spreads.

“Yep. The shocking day finally came for me. The dreaded double red line,” May wrote on Saturday. “And yes – definitely NO sympathy please – it has been a truly horrible few days, but I’m OK. And I will tell the tale. PLEASE take extra care out there, good folks. This thing is incredibly transmissible. You really do NOT want it messing up YOUR Christmas.”

A few hours later, May revealed that he first tested positive seven days ago and has started to feel better. “I’m feeling that my immune system, with the enormous help of three Pfizer jabs, is now winning the battle against the invader,” May wrote. “So do NOT be afraid – there IS life after Covid! But DO be careful … you do not want this, and neither [does] your family. Thanks for all your great messages – in spite of my pleas for no sympathy.”

In two follow-up videos, May explained that he decided to attend a friend’s birthday with his wife, former EastEnders actress Anita Dobson. He thought they were “in a safe bubble,” but he later realized it was a bad idea. He thought the situation was ironic since he had spent so much time being as careful as possible during the pandemic. The party was on Dec. 11.

“We decided we would go to a birthday lunch and we thought, well this is the last social function we would go to – not that we go to many anyway, we’ll chance it, everybody’s going to be triple-jabbed, everybody’s going to be with one of these things [lateral flow test] which says you’ll be negative on the morning,” May said, reports the Independent. They thought the party was set up safely, but he admitted the couple “made the wrong decision.”

The U.K. has seen an alarming uptick in the number of daily COVID cases since the omicron variant reached the country. On Sunday, there were 82,886 new daily COVID cases, the third consecutive day with over 80,000, reports The Telegraph. There was a record number of booster shot doses administered though, with over 904,000 U.K. residents getting a booster shot.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan told the BBC it is “inevitable” that some new restrictions might been to be imposed for England. “I think we should be able to celebrate Christmas safely. But I think sooner rather than later we’re going to look at social distancing, we’re going to have to look at household mixing,” he said. “If we don’t, the number of cases is only going one way.”