As the coronavirus pandemic spreads, the number of high profile cases shines a light on the vulnerabilities with which we’re all reckoning. Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson were among the first such cases, and have thankfully been since released from the hospital. Idris Elba also tested positive earlier this week, as did NBA superstar Kevin Durant. And now, COVID-19 has come for no less a Contemporary Christian Music icon than Sandi Patty.
Yes, on Twitter, one of the most celebrated CCM artists of the ’80s and ’90s confirmed that she has tested positive for COVID-19 and has been quarantined. She urged her followers to stay home and do their part to “flatten the curve” — a popular term for lessening the immediate impact of the pandemic through social-isolation to reduce the impending burden on hospitals and healthcare professionals.
“God has given us faith,” Patty said. “But he’s also given us wisdom. Be well and wise!”
Friends – Today I received confirmation that I tested positive for COVID19. We are quarantined at home. WE MUST DO OUR PART. If you are not social distancing and STAYING HOME, DO SO NOW! #flattenthecurve God has given us faith, but he’s also given us wisdom. Be well and wise!
— Sandi Patty (@SandiPattyP) March 18, 2020
Patty posted a video to Facebook, explaining that she’d been traveling for the last few weeks and started feeling unwell, prompting her decision to get tested.
“This is not fake news,” she says. “This is real. This is everything that they say it is and we’ve got to take it seriously.”
Patty also said her church had opted for online services in the coming weeks and asked for everyone to “do their part.”
Patty’s career was jumpstarted in 1986, when she was selected to sing the National Anthem during a rededication of the Statue of Liberty, astonishing the country with her tremendous voice. She remains the most awarded female vocalist in Christian music history, with 40 Dove Awards and five Grammys for songs like “Via Dolorosa”, “In Heaven’s Eyes” and “The Stage Is Bare”.
In 2015, the Gospel Music Association gave her a genuinely moving tribute during the Dove Awards, with renditions of her classic songs sung by Natalie Grant, Britt Nicole, Audrey Assad, Francesca Battistelli, Laura Story, Janet Paschal, Kerrie Roberts and Patty herself.
Patty is 63 years old.
