Slayer and Exodus guitarist Gary Holt confirmed Tuesday that he has COVID-19.
“So, I finally received my test results back and positive it was,” he wrote in a since-deleted Instagram post (via Blabbermouth). “[My wife] Lisa’s came back negative, and it’s been long enough since my symptoms that I am officially in the clear to do the only things I’m allowed, like buy my own groceries! I feel great, made it through the tougher moments, and my health feels 100 percent normal. Thanks to everyone who had wished us well. Now it’s time to start working on some new EXODUS riffs while I’m still basically stuck in my house!”
Holt was recently on the Bay Strikes Back tour through Europe as a member of Exodus. Several band and crew members from the tour — which also featured Testament and Death Angel — have reported either positive COVID-19 tests or symptoms that suggest positive diagnoses.
The guitarist — who joined Slayer informally in 2011 and officially in 2013 — had previously reported he was going for a coronavirus test on March 20th. The delay between getting tested and getting the results from the test has been a hot topic in recent weeks as the nation has attempted to address the pandemic. Testament frontman Chuck Billy told Rolling Stone last week that it took almost a week for him to find out that he and his wife were positive for the coronavirus, by which time he, too, had started to feel better.
“They didn’t give us any medication, so we just rode it out,” Billy said. “We just hunkered down. And we were fortunate enough to have friends and family dropping off groceries and food here and there. … Three or four days ago, I was like, ‘I’m not feeling wiped and dizzy when I [get] up.’”
In the interview, Billy also stressed that people needed to take the virus seriously. “We’re not prepared for it,” he said. “These numbers that we see that people are testing are totally off because I’m sure there are much more people who have been tested and can’t get the results fast enough. It’s bigger than they make it out to be, but it’s real.”
