The novel coronavirus pandemic has forced Ozzy Osbourne to cancel an upcoming trip in which he was scheduled to undergo medical treatment.

Osbourne, who was hospitalized with pneumonia last winter, was scheduled to travel to Switzerland in April to see an immune systems specialist.

The Prince of Darkness canceled his spring and summer tour dates in order to receive what he expected would be several weeks of treatment to address his advancing Parkinson's disease and possible other issues he's faced since undergoing neck surgery last year.

Sharon Osbourne confirmed the change of plans on a recent edition of CBS's The Talk.

"We had to cancel our trip to Switzerland," she said. "We were meant to go on the eighth of April, but we had to cancel, for his treatment. We're just hanging in, like everybody else. Just trying to stay away and be quiet and just hold it in there."

She added that it's a "really, really frightening time to be alive."

Several times throughout the winter, during promotion for his Ordinary Man album, Ozzy expressed doubts about whether he would be ready to resume his postponed farewell tour this spring. He decided to cancel after many dates had been postponed more than once; he said it started becoming unfair to the fans.

When the COVID-19 cases began showing up in America, Ozzy was one of the first major artists to call off public appearances; he canceled his trip to the South by Southwest Film Festival days before concerns over the virus caused the entire affair to be canceled.

While Ozzy has been forthcoming about the monotony of his rehabilitation and the emotional toll so much time offstage has taken on him, he's expressed confidence that he will complete his farewell tour eventually.

Photo: Getty Images

About Bill Moran

95.7 QMF · Louisville's Rock Station