Dolly Parton is telling her fans to "keep the faith" during the coronavirus pandemic. 

In a video update to her Instagram page, the country music legend told her 3.1m followers that she believed God has a lesson for people in the present crisis as she encouraged them not to be too afraid. 

Starting the video with a lighthearted ditty, she told her fans that she was "not making light of the situation" before changing her mind and adding, "Well maybe I am because it's the light that I believe is going to dissolve this situation." 

"I think God is in this, I really do. I think He's trying to hold us up to the light so that we can see ourselves and see each other through the eyes of love.  And I hope we learn that lesson," she said. 

The "9 to 5" singer said she was keeping a positive attitude in the face of the global pandemic and that she was believing that it will change people for the better. 

"I think that when this passes, we're gonna all be better people," she said.

"I know that I have a positive attitude about it, as negative as it seems to be right now. So just keep the faith, don't be too scared, it's gonna be alright, God loves us." 

The 74-year-old icon is about to embark on a new project reading bedtime stories to children during the pandemic. 

The 'Goodnight With Dolly' video series begins on April 2 at 7pm EST and will run each Thursday for 10 weeks. 

It will be broadcast through the Imagination Library YouTube channel. 

"This is something I have been wanting to do for quite a while, but the timing never felt quite right," she told Rolling Stone magazine. 

"I think it is pretty clear that now is the time to share a story and to share some love. It is an honour for me to share the incredible talent of these authors and illustrators. They make us smile, they make us laugh and they make us think."