BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – State Representative Randy Fine (R—Palm Bay) was hospitalized on Sunday for COVID-19.
“So I got the X-ray back and it wasn’t what I expected. Doctor said I have some pretty serious damage in my lungs and is ordering me admitted to the hospital,” Fine wrote on his Facebook page shortly after 5:30 p.m.
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In a text message to FLORIDA TODAY he confirmed he was at Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne.
So I got the X-ray back and it wasn’t what I expected. Doctor said I have some pretty serious damage in my lungs and is...
Posted by State Representative Randy Fine on Sunday, August 2, 2020
“I’m not going to lie — I’m pretty scared. I didn’t even see the boys before I left because I figured I’d be back in a couple hours,” he said.
Fine's coronavirus infection was confirmed on July 22, along with that of his two sons, David, 8, and Jacob, 12, just days after his wife Wendy tested positive. They self-isolated and tested positive after finding out that they had been in contact with a person several days prior who later tested positive.
"They feel back to normal," he said of his wife and kids in a text.
Fine said his condition does not require supplemental oxygen or a ventilator.
"Good news is they want me here as a precaution — for observation. Nothing about my present condition requires supplemental oxygen, let alone a ventilator," Fine wrote in his post.
"But they feel as though things could fall apart quickly and if I do need those things it is better that I am here."
Fine is the first Republican state legislator believed to have contracted the coronavirus. He is the first to be hospitalized.
“My odds are pretty good. But then again, I wouldn’t have thought I’d be getting admitted to the hospital after 12 days of this,” he wrote.
Fine's frequent Facebook updates and live stream videos about the coronavirus have been a fixture for Brevard's netizens since the start of the pandemic.
“I don’t normally ask people to pray for me, but I’m going to make an exception this time. And please include my family in it, as they need me. I have so much left to teach the boys.”
Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon is a watchdog reporter at FLORIDA TODAY.
Contact him at 321-355-8144, or asassoon@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @alemzs