Los Angeles, May 18 (IANS): English rock and blues legend Eric Clapton, who denounced vaccine protocols earlier, has tested positive for coronavirus, following which he has cancelled his live events, reports 'Deadline'.

The announcement of the show cancellations in Zurich and Milan was made on Clapton's official Facebook page last night. The post read, "Eric Clapton is unfortunately suffering from Covid having tested positive shortly after the second concert at the Royal Albert Hall. He has been told by his medical advisors that if he were to resume travelling and performing too soon, it could substantially delay his full recovery."

"Eric is also anxious to avoid passing on any infection to any of his band, crew, promoters, their staff and of course the fans", the post further stated.

As per 'Deadline', Clapton has been a prominent opponent of Covid protocols in the UK and the U.S., most notably the lockdowns and business closures enacted during the early days of the global pandemic.

Clapton, who claimed last year that he experienced "disastrous" side effects - his hands and feet, he said, were "frozen, numb or burning, and pretty much useless for two weeks" - collaborated with singer Van Morrison in 2020 on the anti-lockdown song "Stand and Deliver," which included the lyrics "Do you wanna wear these chains/ Until you're lying in the grave?"

In his own song, 'This Has Gotta Stop', Clapton sang "I knew that something was going on wrong/When you started laying down the law/I can't move my hands…This has gotta stop/Enough is enough/I can't take this BS any longer." He subsequently subscribed to a conspiracy theory that vaccination was being encouraged through subliminal hypnosis and "mass psychosis."