A folk singer who deliberately contracted COVID-19 instead of getting vaccinated died Sunday at 57.
Hana Horká, a member of popular Czech Republic group Asonance since 1985, exposed herself to the virus over the holidays when her husband and son – who are vaccinated – were sick with COVID-19.
Horká wanted to be able to access places that require either proof of vaccination or recent infection. “Now there will be theatre, sauna, a concert,” she wrote on Facebook two days before her death.
According to her son Jan Rek, on Sunday morning Horká went to lie down upon feeling pain in her back and, about 10 minutes later, died.
“Her philosophy was that she was more OK with the idea of catching COVID than getting vaccinated,” Rek told BBC News, adding that his mother did not believe some of the conspiracy theories about the vaccine.
The Czech Republic on Wednesday reported 28,469 cases of COVID-19 – a new daily record. About 63 percent of its population of 10.7 million people has been vaccinated.