Ozzy Osbourne has tested positive for COVID-19.
In a new clip shared by TMZ, a tearful Sharon Osbourne – Ozzy's wife and manager – says the 73-year-old metal legend was diagnosed in the “middle of the night” UK time on Wednesday (April 27), but says that she “spoke to him and he's okay”.
“I'm very worried about Ozzy right now,” she continues. “We’ve gone two years without him catching Covid, and it’s just Ozzy’s luck he would get it now.”
In November 2020, Ozzy revealed to GQ Magazine that he suffers from emphysema, a type of lung disease that makes it harder to breathe, which means he’s at an increased risk of complications from COVID-19. “I’ve got emphysema, so if I get this virus, I’m fucked,” he said.
Sharon says she plans to fly back to LA where Ozzy currently is – therefore temporarily parking her new show The Talk UK – so that she can “kiss him, but with about three masks on”.
“I can’t believe my luck that I’m missing the show,” she says. “I’ve only been there three days. I can’t believe it – three days and I’m missing the show. But I will be back. I know I will. It’ll take me a week to get my old man on his feet again and I will be back in a week.”
“My family is my life,” adds Sharon, who herself was diagnosed with Covid in December 2020.
In an interview with Metal Hammer last year, Ozzy jokingly attributed how he never caught Covid from his wife or daughter to Satan. “My wife had the virus; my daughter had the virus and I never got it,” he said. “Being a devil worshipper does have its good points!”
Ozzy’s diagnosis follows Sharon Osbourne’s interview with British broadcaster Piers Morgan, in which she revealed he was “dying to come home” to the UK.
The former Black Sabbath leader has suffered a number of health issues in recent years. In January 2020, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and recently has endured pneumonia, flu and a life-threatening staph infection in his thumb.
In other news, the Prince of Darkness recently announced that he'd completed his guest star-packed new album, the followup to 2020's Ordinary Man.
The record – which is yet to receive a concrete release date – features appearances from Tony Iommi, who wrote an entire song for it, as well as Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Ozzy's longtime six-string sidekick, Zakk Wylde.
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