A Florida man who believed coronavirus was a 'fake crisis' is now hospitalized and wants people to realize the dangers of COVID-19

• Brian Hitchens, of Jupiter, Florida, spent weeks downplaying the seriousness of the novel coronavirus pandemic on Facebook before coming down with COVID-19.
• He and his wife were hospitalized at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, where they both tested positive and she was placed on a ventilator.
• Hitchens has since tested negative for the virus and is now urging others to take the virus seriously, according to his Facebook posts.

A rideshare driver in Florida who once said he believed the coronavirus pandemic was a "fake crisis" has since been hospitalized with COVID-19 and wants other people to realize how dangerous the virus is.

Brian Hitchens, of Jupiter, Florida, spent weeks downplaying the seriousness of pandemic on Facebook, saying God was "bigger than the virus," and voicing skepticism over the pandemic.

Now he and his wife are hospitalized at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center and Hitchens has begun urging people to take the virus seriously, according to Florida's WPTV.

Hitchens started documenting his and his wife's illness in mid-April, and days later, on April 19, they were hospitalized, with his wife on a ventilator.

Hitchens said in a lengthy Facebook post on May 12 that he once thought the novel coronavirus was "blown out of proportion," and a "fake crisis," but now he has a different outlook.

"This thing is nothing to be messed with please listen to the authorities and heed the advice of the experts," Hitchens said of having a change of heart. "We don't have to fear this and by heeding the advice doesn't mean that you fear it that means you're showing wisdom during this epidemic time."

The Facebook post has been shared more than 1,400 times.

"This wasn't some scare tactic that anybody was using. It wasn't some made-up thing," Hitchens told WPTV. "This was a real virus you gotta take seriously."

On Monday, Hitchens wrote online that he had finally tested negative for COVID-19.

"To all you haters out there that has sent me the nasty messages saying I deserve to die and all that I just got one thing to say to you and I hope you're reading this loud and clear ready for this "I AM NEGATIVE"! "PRAISE THE LORD!" he said on Facebook.

His wife is still on a ventilator, and he doesn't know when he'll be discharged, WPTV reported. Hitchens did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

There have been at least 25,684 COVID-19 cases in Florida, and 2,052 people have died from the virus.