Maynard James Keenan, the lead singer of American rock band Tool, possibly had COVID-19 when the band performed in New Zealand.
Tool performed at Spark Arena in Auckland on February 28. There were fears fans might have been infected after a person who attended the show tested positive for the virus five days later.
In a new interview, Keenan revealed he contracted the disease "at the end of February". It's not clear if he found out before the concert, contracted it at the concert or caught it somewhere else.
"I kind of didn't want to run around screaming it," he told US news site AZ Central.
"But it's real. And there's after-effects. I had to go through some major medications to undo the residual effects. Still coughing. There's still lung damage."
He said he lost "a few family members" to the disease, which "several" of his friends also got.
"Very not old people, young people, in shape, runners, who contracted it as well. And they're still dealing with some of the after-effects."
The fan who tested positive after attending the show was New Zealand's third confirmed case at the time. It's since emerged there were prior cases, with the first infected patient now believed to have fallen ill around February 21.
The Government shut the border to most foreigners in March, and put limits on gathering sizes which saw tours by other big bands such as My Chemical Romance cancelled or postponed.
"I still have the cough," Keenan said. "Every other day, I have these coughing fits because my lungs are still damaged at the tips. And I just got over the inflammation that was going on with my wrist and hands. I had an autoimmune attack on my system in the form of, like, a rheumatoid arthritis.
"Basically, from what I understand, it attacks weird spots and it's random. So that's what I got. That was my prize."
Keenan appears to be what's known as a COVID long-hauler - people who carry symptoms of the disease long after the virus has been defeated.
He hit out at people who refuse to wear masks and follow distancing guidelines.
"It's just an absurdity. We wear seatbelts. We don't smoke in trains, planes or taxis anymore, or even restaurants. There's reasons for those things. I don't know.
"I feel like there's this twist on the idea of personal freedom where somehow freedom is you being able to walk into anybody's house and take a dump on their meal or shout ugly things at their grandma. That's not what freedom is."
