Ice-T has lost eight loved ones to coronavirus.

The 62-year-old rapper and actor has urged people to take the global health crisis seriously, as he personally knows eight people who have died as a result of the illness, as well as others who have thankfully recovered.

He said: ''It's easy to say, 'Oh, I can't catch it,' but once you know people ... I know about eight people who've passed away. So, I don't need more proof than that that I don't wanna play with it.''

And Ice-T almost lost his father-in-law, Coco Austin's father Steve Austin, after he spent a month in hospital following a battle with the virus which left him with pneumonia in both his lungs.

Ice added: ''I hate to say it but Coco's dad is a Harley-Davidson-riding, no-mask-wearing type of dude. And it put him on his back. By the time he went to the hospital he had pneumonia in two lungs.

''They held him for about three days in the ICU. Then they call you and make those next-of-kin calls, and that's when it's scary. We might have to put him on a ventilator. And it took him a month to make it out of the hospital, God bless him.''

Steve is now back at home, but the 'Ice Loves Coco' star - who married Coco in 2005 and has four-year-old daughter Chanel with her - says the virus has done long-lasting damage to his lungs.

During an appearance on 'The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon', Ice said: ''COVID attacks your lungs and it can leave your lungs ruined.''

Meanwhile, Coco previously gave an update on her father's health earlier this month, where she admitted he couldn't ''even talk''.

She said: ''It's not looking good. I wish I had better results today ...

''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.

''He's at the point where he can't even talk.

''He can't even say a word. For him to say 'no' or 'yes' is so hard that I have to use texting now, and today he doesn't even want to text anymore. He's just getting so frustrated that he's in this position that he doesn't want to get on the phone.''