Prague: Czech folk singer Hana Horka’s death at 57 after she deliberately contracted Covid-19 has left her son shattered. He has lashed out against anti-vaxxers for filling his mother's head with inaccurate information.
Hana Horka was a member of Czech folk band, Asonance, and had refused to be vaccinated against the virus.
When her husband and her son, Jan Rek – who are both fully vaccinated – contracted Covid around Christmas, she refused to isolate from them.
Instead, she opted to deliberately contract the illness in order to gain a Czech health pass, which allows access to public venues to those who can provide proof of vaccination or recent recovery from the virus.
Venues such as cinemas, restaurants and bars are currently off-limits to the unvaxxed in the nation.
Jan Rek told the BBC his mother had died suddenly on Sunday after her condition had seemingly started to improve.
“She should have isolated for a week because we tested positive. But she was with us the whole time,” he told the BBC of his mother’s decision to intentionally catch the virus.
“In about 10 minutes it was all over … She choked to death.
“Her philosophy was that she was more OK with the idea of catching Covid than getting vaccinated.”
He has accused prominent anti-vaxxers, whose posts his mother regularly shared on social media, of being responsible for her death, saying they had “blood on their hands.”
“It is sad that my mum trusted strangers more than her own family,” Rek explained, saying that his and his father’s pleas for her to receive the jab were to no avail.
Two days before her death, Horka took to social media to announce that she had defeated the virus. She wrote, “I survived… It was intense.”
“So now there will be the theatre, sauna, a concert… and an urgent trip to the sea,” she had added.
Horka said on Sunday morning that she was feeling better and expressed her desire to go for a walk.
But, soon she complained of back pain forcing her to lie down in her bedroom.
Horka died on last Sunday due to Covid-related complications
The Czech folk band Asonance, formed in 1976, mainly played Irish and Celtic folk songs. Asonance released their latest album titled “Návrat krále” in 2019. She also frequently collaborated with other Czech musicians. (UNI)