Singer-songwriter John Prine's wife and business partner Fiona Prine shared two positive updates on Monday (March 30): she's recovered from COVID-19 (coronavirus), while her husband's condition is "stable."
The news came just a day after news broke that Prine was hospitalized on March 26 and intubated two days later.
"I have recovered from COVID-19," began Fiona's Tweet. "We are humbled by the outpouring of love for me and John and our precious family. He is stabile. Please continue to send your amazing Love and prayers. Sing his songs. Stay home and wash hands. John loves you. I love you."
Fiona later clarified her husband's status in a separate Tweet.
"I need to clarify what I mean by 'John is stable'," she wrote. "That is not the same as improving. There is no cure for COVID-19. He needs our prayers and love - as do the thousands of others who are critically ill. Stay at home. Wash your hands. We love you."
Fiona's good news comes less than two weeks after the March 17 announcement that she'd tested positive for COVID-19. John was tested at the time, but his results came back as "indeterminate."
"There's a chance he may not have this virus, and we are working really, really hard and being really diligent about all of the protocols. We are quarantined and isolated from each other and members of the family," Fiona wrote at the time. "It's hard, I won't lie, but it's absolutely important."
John Prine, a 73-year-old cancer survivor, and the former Fiona Whelan run the Nashville-based label Oh Boy Records, which releases John's own music (including the Grammy-nominated 2018 album The Tree of Forgiveness) and, in the past year, music by country music outsider Kelsey Waldon and singer-songwriter Tre Burt. Prior releases include a live album by Kris Kristofferson.
The news about Prine's hospitalization broke while Nashville reeled over the death of Grand Ole Opry member and Grammy winner Joe Diffie: the first mainstream country music star to pass away due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The Associated Press reports that public health officials stress hand washing with soap and water for 20 seconds and staying at home when possible as ways to prevent the pandemic's spread and to protect older adults, people with pre-existing health problems and other vulnerable populations.
