(CMR) A folk singer from the Czech Republic died after deliberately catching COVID-19 so she could get a recovery pass to access certain venues.
Hana Horka (57) was unvaccinated and had posted on social media that she was recovering after testing positive but died two days later, BBC reported. Horka was a member of one of the oldest Czech folk groups, Asonance.
Proof of vaccination or recent infection from the virus is required in the Czech Republic to gain entry to many social and cultural venues, including cinemas, bars, and cafes.
Horka's son, Jan Rek, said he and his father, who are both vaccinated, got the coronavirus over Christmas; however, his mother decided not to stay away, preferring instead to expose herself to the virus.
“She should have isolated for a week because we tested positive. But she was with us the whole time,” he said.
Two days before she died, she reportedly wrote on social media that she was recovering: “Now there will be theatre, sauna, a concert.”
On the day she died, Horka said she was feeling better and dressed to go for a walk. But then her back started hurting, so she went to lie down in her bedroom.
“In about 10 minutes, it was all over,” her son said. “She choked to death.”
Jan Rek said his mother's “philosophy was that she was more OK with the idea of catching Covid than getting vaccinated. Not that we would get microchipped or anything like that.”
Rek said he hoped that he could convince others to get vaccinated by telling his story.
“If you have living examples from real life, it's more powerful than just graphs and numbers. You can't really sympathize with numbers.”
COVID cases in the Czech Republic reached a new daily high on Wednesday, with 28,469 cases.
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