Ice-T's Father-in-Law Is Now 'on Oxygen Indefinitely' After Spending 40 Days in ICU for COVID-19

Getty images; TWitter

Ice-T is opening up about how the novel coronavirus has affected his family.

The rapper and Law & Order: SVU star, 62, spoke about the long-lasting effects of COVID-19 on Monday, revealing in a tweet that his wife Coco Austin's father is "on Oxygen indefinitely" after contracting the novel virus earlier this year.

"My father-in-law 'Coco’s dad' was a serious ‘No Masker’ COVID hit him," he wrote. "Pneumonia in both lungs.. 40 days in ICU close to death.. Now he’s on Oxygen indefinitely."

Ice-T also shared a photo of his father-in-law wearing an oxygen mask, writing, "Ohhh he's a Believer now.. #COVIDisNotAGame."

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Austin's father Steve was hospitalized in Arizona this June, Ice-T previously revealed.

In July, the actor — who shares 5-year-old daughter Chanel Nicole with Austin, 41 — said during his appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon that it took his father-in-law "a month to make it out of the hospital."

"Now he's home, but his lungs are damaged indefinitely," he told host Jimmy Fallon.

At the time, Ice-T said he wanted to share his father-in-law's story to show the seriousness of the virus and emphasize the importance of practicing safety precautions such as wearing a mask.

"There are still non-believers," he said. "I've made it through so much in my life, I don't want to die because of this — especially with a new daughter. I'm aware and I'm concerned and I'm cautious."

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Austin told Page Six in July that two of her aunts had also contracted COVID-19.

"It's like, 'Oh my God, like, my family is falling apart,'" she said. "To know that the most healthy person in this family is about to go on a ventilator, they're talking about that, which is really hard because I'm pretty much the next of kin. I have a really big family and they put it in my hands to make these decisions, so it's been really hard to have to even talk about."

On Instagram, the Ice Loves Coco star shared family photos of herself with Steve, calling her father "tough as an ox" and adding that the diagnosis came as a surprise since he "never EVER gets sick."

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"My, tough as an ox dad, the one that never goes to the doctor, the one that doesn't even take tylenol for pain, the one that never EVER gets sick, [we're] talking about the original Steve Austin (cuz thats his real name) is in the ICU requiring oxygen for #covid19," she wrote on June 30. "He is having trouble breathing and feels like he is being stabbed with pins throughout his body."

"For all the people that say it can't happen to your family..think again," she continued. "Sending happy thoughts to my father and all the families that are dealing with it."

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