A Florida man who thought the coronavirus was 'blown out of proportion' lost his wife to it

https://news.yahoo.com/florida-man-thought-coronavirus-blown-143835875.html


businessinsider.com (Yelena Dzhanova)
,INSIDER•August 25, 2020

 https://www.insider.com/man-thought-coronavirus-overblown-lost-wife-covid-19-2020-8 

 

A Florida man who once said the coronavirus pandemic was "blown out of proportion" has lost his wife to COVID-19.

Brian Lee Hitchens, a ride-sharing driver, told BBC News that he and his wife, Erin, had believed false claims circulating on social media in the early months of the pandemic downplaying the disease or linking it to conspiracy theories around 5G. Some of the misinformation the two saw online also likened the disease to the flu, making the coronavirus seem far more treatable than it is.

Believing those debunked or false claims, neither of them adhered to recommended precautions from health officials, he said.

"This is a real virus that affects people differently. I can't change the past. I can only live in today and make better choices for the future," Hitchens told BBC News. "She's no longer suffering, but in peace. I go through times missing her, but I know she's in a better place."

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Hitchens continued his job as a driver without wearing a mask or enforcing social distancing.

"We thought the government was using it to distract us," he told BBC News, "or it was to do with 5G."

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Hitchens expressed regret at not heeding warnings from health officials, telling the BBC that he wished he'd "listened from the beginning."

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