Post Malone and Camila Cabello Producer Andrew Watt Diagnosed With Coronavirus

Chris Willman
·3 min read

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Music producer Andrew Watt, who was recently named one of Variety‘s Hitmakers of the Month for his work on “Señorita” and other smashes, announced Tuesday that he has tested positive for coronavirus, and shared a distressing story of being put off for tests as he developed pneumonia and ultimately required assistance from an oxygen machine.

His first-person account of the progression of the disease was passed along via a series of posts from the editor of DJ Booth. “Yesterday I was given the results that I am positive for COVID-19,” the producer wrote. “I wanted to tell you all about my journey getting here in an effort to bring awareness to the severity of what’s happening in the world.”

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Watt said he felt “like I was hit by a bus” on the morning of March 6 and was all but unable to get out of bed for days to follow, but was told by a doctor that “there’s no way I could have COVID-19 as I haven’t left the country and all I do is go to the studio and go straight home.” None of his friends or associates he contacted “even had a sniffle,” he said. He described becoming “delusional” as he further developed a dry cough, and went to the emergency room, where he was given an X-ray that resulted in a pneumonia diagnosis — even as he was still refused a coronavirus test “because of federal regulations.” He said he was finally able to get a private doctor to administer the test that came back positive for the virus.

“Currently,” he wrote, “my fevers have gotten much, much better and I have begun to have somewhat of an appetite again,” 11 days after first being hit hard by the symptoms, “but it is very hard for me to breathe as a result of this pneumonia. I am laid out in bed chugging Gatorade and using an oxygen machine to give my lungs as much relief as possible.

“I am 29 years old. I am a healthy young man and I am going to get through this no matter what,” Watt continued. “I am going to make a full recovery. But there are so many people in my life and in the world that could possibly not get through this due to their age and/or a compromised immune system. This is why I am writing this post. I can’t stress this enough. This is not a joke. Stay inside, stay sanitized. Please stop everything and take care of yourselves and the people you love around you, until we are all through this.

“To have the mentality ‘I’m young, this can’t affect me’ is just straight up stupid and so dangerous to everyone around you. Social distancing is to protect someone’s mom and dad, someone’s grandmother. It’s not about you. It’s about everyone together fighting this as a team. Stay safe, now more than ever. Okay, I’m going back to ‘Men in Black III.'” He signed his series of posts “Love, Andy.”

Watt is the production and co-writing force behind not just Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello’s “Señorita” but hits like the Chainsmokers and Bebe Rexha’s “Call You Mine.” He worked on seven of the tracks on Ozzy Osbourne’s new album, “Ordinary Man,” as well as one of the new A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie tracks. Other recent credits include songs by Camila Cabello, Post Malone, Lana Del Rey, Juice Wrld, Cardi B, Future, Blink-182, 5 Seconds of Summer and Charli XCX.

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