Marianne Faithfull in hospital with the coronavirus

The 60s icon is 'responding to treatment'

English singer Marianne Faithfull performs on stage during the 23rd edition of the Cognac Blues Passion festival on July 08, 2016 in Cognac. AFP 

British singer Marianne Faithfull has tested positive for the coronavirus and is being treated in hospital.

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

"She is stable and responding to treatment. We wish her well and a full and speedy recovery."

Faithfull's friend, the American avant-garde performer Penny Arcade, wrote on her Facebook page that the singer went into hospital on Tuesday, reportedly after developing a cold while self-isolating.

"She has withstood and survived so much in her life – including being Marianne Faithful, that to be taken down by a virus would be such a tragedy," wrote Arcade, whose real name is Susana Ventura.

Faithfull, 73, was one of the icons of the 1960s and was catapulted 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 had a five-decade career as a singer-songwriter and stage and film actress. But she has also had well-documented battles with drug addiction and health issues.

In 2006, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, although rapid surgery prevented the disease spreading and she fully recovered.

In 2008, she cancelled her world tour due to what at the time was described as "general mental, physical and nervous exhaustion", and which she now calls "clinical depression".

She told The National in 2011 that she "spends a lot of time staying healthy".

"That's my first priority," she said.