An Ohio man whose Facebook posts criticized coronavirus lockdown measures has died of the virus, according to NBC News.
John, 60, of Marion, Ohio, died on April 15. Screenshots of posts attributed to him went viral days later. In them, he called social distancing measures nonsense and described the virus as a “political ploy” in a post dated March 13. Another post said, “If you’re paranoid about getting sick, just don’t go out. It shouldn’t keep those of us from Living Our Lives. The Madness has to stop.”
British broadcaster Piers Morgan shared the screenshots on Twitter, writing that John’s death should serve as a warning to people ignoring lockdowns. NBC News reported that his account had since been deleted and that it could not independently verify the screenshots.
The posts circulated as Ohioans protested Gov. Mike DeWine’s restrictions. DeWine had announced plans to begin reopening the state, with May 1 as a tentative start. Dr. Anthony Fauci told The Associated Press that reopening too early could be risky and that limited testing would make it hard to prevent new infections. “We have to have something in place that is efficient and that we can rely on, and we’re not there yet,” he said.
According to his obituary, John was a lifelong Marion resident and an Ohio State fan, described as an entertaining storyteller who “loved life and loved everyone he knew with his whole heart.” The obituary also asked everyone to keep practicing social distancing to keep each other safe. His family did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
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