A Czech folk singer has died after she deliberately contracted Covid-19 to obtain a health pass without getting vaccinated.
Hana Horka, 57, wanted to catch the disease to obtain the pass that would allow her to visit venues blocked to the unvaccinated, her family has said.
She died on Sunday, her son Jan Rek said.
Mr Rek blamed her death on a local anti-vaxx movement, saying its leaders had convinced Ms Horka against getting vaccinated.
He said they had “blood on their hands”.
“I know exactly who influenced her … It makes me sad that she believed strangers more than her proper family,” Mr Rek continued.
“It wasn’t just total disinformation but also views on natural immunity and antibodies acquired through infection.”
Ms Horka, a vocalist for the band Asonance, had voluntarily exposed herself to the virus when her husband and son, both vaccinated, caught it before Christmas, Mr Rek told local media.
“She decided to continue to live normally with us and preferred to catch the disease than to get vaccinated,” he said on Monday.
Two days before her death, Ms Horka posted on social media: “I survived … It was intense. So now there will be the theatre, sauna, a concert … and an urgent trip to the sea.”
Proof of vaccination or a recent infection is required to access cultural and sports facilities as well as for travel and for visiting bars and restaurants in the Czech Republic.
The number of Covid cases in the country reached a new daily high on Wednesday, with 28,469 cases reported in a population of 10.7 million people.
The government has announced it would scrap plans to introduce mandatory vaccination for some sections of society on Wednesday.
Earlier this month, thousands of people demonstrated in Prague and other cities against its possible introduction.
Around 63 per cent of the Czech Republic’s total population has been fully vaccinated, compared with an average of 69 per cent across the EU.
