KATAKLYSM guitarist Jean-François Dagenais says that he is feeling “much better,” less than a week after tested positive for COVID-19. The Canadian-born musician, who has lived in Dallas, Texas, for the past decade, exhibited “severe symptoms” of the novel coronavirus before it was confirmed he had COVID-19.
Earlier today, Dagenais released the following statement: “Hey, folks! First, I want to thank everyone for the outpour of support from all our awesome fans and music colleagues around the world. It really gave me a morale boost!
“Last week started like any normal week. I was doing press for KATAKLYSM‘s new album, ‘Unconquered’, and on Wednesday morning, I woke up and felt like I got hit by a train; I had a slight fever, body aches, and very low energy. The next day, I went to my doctor after no improvement and they administered the COVID test to be on the safe side. It came back positive, and I was shocked because I’m the extra-careful type of guy. I wear a mask religiously, wash my hands, and barely go out.
“Anyhow, over the weekend I started to feel much better and started feeling like my old self again. Luckily, I am in decent health with no underlying conditions. I will self-quarantine at home with my family (so far they are fine) and will be free of this thing in no time.
“I don’t want to make a big thing out of this and overshadow the new album, but wanted to share the news that anyone can get this so be careful out there. It is a nasty bug. The first few days were brutal, but at the end of the day, I’m fine, and I will get over it.”
The Dallas County Health Department has reported 68,572 cases of the virus since testing began in March. There have been 855 confirmed deaths attributed in the county to the virus, which is now the third leading cause of death in the county behind diseases of the heart and cancers.
KATAKLYSM will release its 14th full-length studio album, “Unconquered”, on September 25 via Nuclear Blast Records. The disc was recorded and engineered by Dagenais at JFD Studio in Dallas.
