A 30-YEAR-OLD man who believed the coronavirus was a hoax and attended a “COVID party” died after being infected with the virus, according to a Texas hospital.
The man, who was not publicly identified, had attended a gathering with an infected person to test whether the coronavirus was real, said Dr. Jane Appleby, chief medical officer at Methodist Hospital in San Antonio, where the man died.
The premise of such parties is to test whether the virus really exists or to intentionally expose people to the coronavirus in an attempt to gain immunity.
Appleby said the man had told his nurse that he attended a COVID party. Just before he died, she said the patient told his nurse: “I think I made a mistake. I thought this was a hoax, but it’s not.”
Appleby said she was sharing the story to warn others, especially in Texas, where coronavirus cases are surging.
There were 8,332 new confirmed coronavirus cases in the state on Saturday. More than 258,000 cases and more than 3,200 deaths have been recorded in Texas so far. (The New York Times)
