Christian singer Sandi Patty revealed Monday she has been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus and encouraged her fans to take the pandemic seriously.
“This is not fake news,” she wrote on Facebook. “If you are not already practicing social distancing and STAYING HOME, DO SO NOW! This is what we can all do. This is how we stop the spread. God has given us faith, but he’s also given us wisdom. He has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love, and of a sound mind. I will keep you posted as I can. (Oh! And cough in your elbow, not your hand).”
Patty, 63, said she received confirmation Monday she tested positive for COVID-19.
“I am at home and Don and I are under quarantine for the next 14 days,” she wrote, referencing her husband, Don Peslis. “I’m so impressed with how our Health Department handled my case and grateful for their attentiveness. They are working so hard right now to keep us all safe. WE MUST DO OUR PART.”
Patty won five Grammy Awards in the 1980s and 1990s and has won 40 Dove Awards during her career. She was the Dove Award Female Vocalist of the Year 11 straight years, from 1982 to 1992.
She said in a Facebook video she hadn’t “felt well for a couple of weeks.” She has been off the road for about 10 days.
“This is real. This is everything they say it is. … When we make the choice to quarantine ourselves, not only are we protecting ourselves … [but] it’s the right decision for everybody else, too,” she said.
Patty added she’s also thankful her church has an online option.
“Do your part,” she told her fans. “… [God] has given us faith, but he’s also given us wisdom. This is the time to utilize that wisdom.”
The novel coronavirus is at least 10 times deadlier than the flu. For the elderly, the mortality rate is between 10 and 20 percent, according to data from around the world. There is no vaccine.
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Photo courtesy: The Broken Arrow Performing Arts Center Sandi Patty Facebook Page
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, The Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
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