Musician has been hospitalized since Thursday and has been placed on a ventilator

The family of John Prine says the singer-songwriter is critically ill and has been placed on a ventilator while being treated for Covid-19-type symptoms.

A message posted on Prine’s Twitter page Sunday said the Angel from Montgomery singer has been hospitalized since Thursday and his condition worsened on Saturday.

“This is hard news for us to share,” Prine’s family said. “But so many of you have loved and supported John over the years, we wanted to let you know, and give you the chance to send on more of that love and support now. And know that we love you, and that John loves you.”

Prine’s wife and manager, Fiona Whelan Prine, this month said she had tested positive for the coronavirus. She said the couple were quarantined and isolated from each other.

The 73-year-old Prine, one of the most influential figures in folk and country music, has twice fought cancer. Most recently, he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2013 and had part of a lung removed.

The surgeries affected his voice but Prine continued to make music and to tour. Before the onset of the virus, Prine had shows scheduled in May and a summer tour planned.

Joe Diffie, a country singer who had a string of hits in the 1990s with chart-topping ballads and honky-tonk tunes such as Home and Pickup Man, has died in Nashville after testing positive for Covid-19. He was 61.

Covid-19 is the disease caused by the new coronavirus. As of Sunday, it has killed more than 32,000 people worldwide and more than 2,000 in the US.

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