Brian May ‘optimistic’ about Covid-19 as he battles the virus in isolation

Musician Brian May has said he is “optimistic for the future” as he battles Covid-19.

The guitarist of rock band Queen has said he hopes next Christmas we will find “old normality” as he endures the 10th day of self-isolation.

May believes he has the Omicron strain of the virus, revealing he was “congested, feverish and coughing for around two days” but never had difficulty breathing or lost his sense of taste or smell.

Sharing a photo of a lateral flow test with two faint red lines on the tenth day of his isolation, he wrote on Instagram: “In the UK at least, NOBODY ever tells you what variant you have got.

“My deduction that it was Omicron is based on (1) the speed and pervasiveness of the spread of infection in that room – well over half of a group of 40 or so were infected inside 3 days, and (2) the symptoms.

“So this new variant is a very different beast from the one which first put all our lives on hold nearly two years ago.

“It’s clear this new variant is completely out of control. BUT … I am optimistic for the future.”

Medical experts have warned that the Omicron variant is more transmissible than previous variants.

The musician has spoken about his health issues before, revealing he suffered a heart attack and doctors had also treated him for multiple complications, including a stomach haemorrhage, and inserted three stents.

Last year he revealed he was “very near death” when doctors found three blocked arteries stopping the supply of blood to his heart after he was treated for agonising pain due to a rip in his gluteus maximus and a compressed sciatic nerve.

Posting the same image zoomed in on Instagram, May added: “Why am I cautiously optimistic about Covid?

“All the present evidence points to the view that in evolving into the Omicron Variant, the coronavirus has become (1) much more efficient at propagating itself, and (2) less efficient at killing its victims.

“The first strains of Covid 19 were unquestionably deadly – we all lost dear friends and relatives.

“However, through a number of mutations this new version has become so successful that it is now, or very soon will be, the dominant variant in the World. I think that’s a good thing for the virus, and it’s ALSO a good thing for us. WHY?

“What’s not generally understood is that a virus doesn’t have to kill its hosts to be successful. Actually quite the reverse.

“If it kills its victims too efficiently they won’t have time to spread the virus. This is often quoted as the reason that the deadly virus Ebola never became a pandemic. It was contained.

“But containment was only possible because it killed most of its victims before they had had the chance to infect anyone else.

“So, just maybe, by next Christmas we may all find that old ‘normality’ we have been pining for. Let’s pray that the human race will have learned a few lessons by then.”