Man who believed virus was hoax loses wife to Covid-19

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A Florida taxi driver, who believed false claims that coronavirus was a hoax, has lost his wife to Covid-19.

Brian Lee Hitchens and his wife, Erin, had read claims online that the virus was fabricated, linked to 5G or similar to the flu.

The couple didn't follow health guidance or seek help when they fell ill in early May. Brian recovered but his 46-year-old wife became critically ill and died this month from heart problems linked to the virus.

Brian spoke to the BBC in July as part of an investigation into the human cost of coronavirus misinformation. At the time, his wife was on a ventilator in hospital.

Erin, a pastor in Florida, had existing health problems - she suffered from asthma and a sleeping disorder.

Her husband explained that the couple did not follow health guidance at the start of the pandemic because of the false claims they had seen online.

Brian continued to work as a taxi driver and to collect his wife's medicine without observing social distancing rules or wearing a mask.

They had also failed to seek help as soon as possible when they fell ill in May and were both subsequently diagnosed with Covid-19.

Brian told BBC News that he "wished [he'd] listened from the beginning" and hoped his wife would forgive him.

Brian said he and his wife didn't have one firm belief about Covid-19. Instead, they switched between thinking the virus was a hoax, linked to 5G technology, or a real, but mild ailment. They came across these theories on Facebook.

"We thought the government was using it to distract us," Brian explained, "or it was to do with 5G."

But after the couple fell ill with the virus in May, Brian took to Facebook in a viral post to explain that he'd been misled by what he'd seen online about the virus.

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