Randy Fine gives thanks for support during virus fight

State Rep. Randy Fine, who is being treated for the coronavirus at Holmes Regional Medical Center in Brevard County, credited supportive comments on social media for helping him fight the virus he’s had for more than two weeks.

“I would say this, if you want your faith in humanity restored, go look at the comments on my Facebook post where I announced that I was going to come to the hospital,” the Republican posted in a video from his hospital bed. “I mean, I cannot put into words how much it’s meant to me.”

One of three state lawmakers who has publicly said they have tested positive for the virus, Fine was admitted to the hospital Sunday after X-rays showed he had “some pretty serious damage in my lungs.”

Via Facebook, Fine gave directions to his re-election campaign, noted the hydroxychloroquine he’s taken isn’t “some kind of magic solution,” and said the hospital stay is giving him “a little bit of a taste of what prison feels like,” as he is prohibited from wandering around while positive for the virus and hooked up intravenously to medications. He also noted that while he could go home soon, his recovery could take months or longer.

Fine wrote that he doesn’t “ask people to pray for me because I usually feel like there’s better things for people to pray for than me.” But he said he made an exception in this case, and thousands of people have responded with support.

“I’ll never forget it, I’ll tell you this, for the rest of my life,” he wrote.