A 30-year-old man in Texas, United States, died of the coronavirus after attending a party thrown by an infected person, AFP reported on Monday. The man reportedly thought that the coronavirus was a hoax, a medical officer said.

“Someone will be diagnosed with the disease, and they’ll have a party to invite their friends over to see if they can beat the disease,” Jane Appleby, chief medical officer at the Methodist Hospital in San Antonio was quoted as saying by the news agency. “He thought he was young and invincible and wouldn’t get affected by the disease.”

Appleby said that man told his nurse that he had made a mistake by going to the party. She added that the man’s admission was “heart-wrenching”.

The medical officer said that people needed to realise how dangerous the coronavirus is. “I don’t want to be an alarmist, and we’re just trying to share some real-world examples to help our community realise that this virus is very serious and can spread easily,” she said, according to The Guardian. “Please wear a mask, stay at home when you can, avoid groups of people and sanitise your hands.”

Texas has reported more than 2.58 lakh coronavirus cases and 3,192 deaths so far. Across the US, more than 33 lakh people have been infected and over 1.35 lakh have died.