British singer Marianne Faithfull has tested positive for coronavirus and is being treated in hospital, her public relations said on Saturday.

"Marianne Faithfull's manager... has confirmed that Marianne is being treated for COVID-19 in hospital in London," music industry publicists Republic Media tweeted.


"She is stable and responding to treatment. We wish her well and a full and speedy recovery."
Friend Faithfull, US avant-garde player Penny Arcade, wrote on her Facebook page that the singer went to hospital on Tuesday, reportedly after suffering from the flu while seclusion.

"She has survived and endured so much in his life - including being Marianne Faithful, that to be passed down by a virus would be a tragedy," wrote Arcade, whose real name is Susana Ventura.

Faithfull, 73, was one of the icons of the 1960s and was thrown to fame at the age of only 17 singing "As Tears Go By", written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones.

She has a five-decade career as a singer-songwriter, and stage and film actress. But he also has a well documented battle with drug addiction and health problems.