(NBC) - Chicago R&B artist Jeremih is hospitalized and battling a severe case of Covid-19, a representative said in a statement Wednesday.
The 33-year-old musician, whose real name is Jeremy Felton, is on a ventilator in an intensive care unit, the statement said.
“The COVID-19 condition he’s experiencing is rare for a young man his age without underlying conditions,” the representative said.
The representative added that Felton’s family wanted to remind the world the coronavirus is real and shouldn’t be taken lightly.
“There’s no shame in contracting COVID-19, and people that have it need to be responsible and considerate of others,” the representative said. “Everyone diagnosed with COVID-19 is affected differently. Unfortunately for Jeremih, COVID-19 viciously attacked his body.”
Felton, who signed with Def Jam in 2009, has released four records and recorded several popular singles. News of his illness prompted an outpouring of support from artists like Chance The Rapper, Toni Braxton and Big Sean.
His hospitalization comes as the virus surges across the United States, with more than 250,000 deaths recorded since the pandemic began. In the last month, Illinois recorded 254,000 cases — or 42 percent of all the cases confirmed in the state, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University.
In Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot issued a stay-at-home order last week, saying that the city faces the grim prospect of recording 1,000 deaths in the next seven weeks.
“We’re at a critical inflection point,” she told MSNBC.
