A US Army veteran who dismissed the coronavirus pandemic as a ‘hype’ has died of the deadly disease at just 37 years old.
Richard Rose was diagnosed with the condition in Ohio, before passing away on July 4.
The Army Vet had turned nine years old, completing two tours of Iraq and Afghanistan. He had posted on social media what he believed at the time was an overreaction by the public to the outbreak.
In April, he wrote a Facebook statement that said, “Let’s make this clear. I’m not buying a crappy mask. I’ve come this far by not buying that damn hype.”
Rose, who is known to have no underlying health conditions, wrote on Facebook on July 1 that he had been “sick” for a few days and was showing symptoms of the disease.
His diagnosis was confirmed the same day, when he posted: “This Covid sucks. I’m so out of breath just sitting here.”
On July 3, it appears that he began to realize that his condition was worsening. He shared a meme the day before he died, which was a prank asking people not to be surprised if they saw it in the sky.
Nick Conley, a friend of Rose, spoke of his shock at the man’s death and asked that people show compassion for the late soldier.
Speaking to the American news outlet Cleveland 19, Conley said: “We were impressed, you know? You hear about this virus and you don’t expect it to affect people, younger people like us.”
She added: “Rick is being killed online right now for his decision not to wear a mask and that’s not okay. We should still be compassionate if we agree with someone’s beliefs or not. Someone is deceased and we should have some compassion towards that.
“It is horrible that we have lost Rick, but the even more tragic part of that is who else got infected because of the actions he chose.”
“I know many people who have not met someone they know who has been diagnosed with the virus and I wanted people to see that it was real and my hope is that people will see this happen and people will be more cautious.”
Rose had also been outspoken about her support for United States President Donald Trump, who has been criticized in recent months for refusing to wear a mask and has been accused of minimizing the severity of the coronavirus.
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