Natural Healer Who Said COVID-19 Isn’t Real Critically Ill With Virus

A Muslim preacher in Australia who claimed he could cure people of illnesses and that COVID-19 was not real has been hospitalized after he contracted the virus, according to his family.

Mohammed Shaar, a supposed natural healer, contracted the Delta strain of COVID-19 and was taken to a hospital, where he currently remains, local media outlet 7News.com.au reported. He had reportedly been preaching for weeks that vaccines were ineffective and that the pandemic was a myth.

"A lot of Australians young and old have doubts about the current [COVID-19 pandemic], my dad was one of them. And unfortunately, he learned the hard way that it is in fact real," a man who claimed to be Shaar's son wrote on his Facebook page.

Shaar reportedly fell ill last week and closed his healing center to recover at home.

"I'm currently very sick for [a] few days with common cold... not COVID-19," Shaar wrote in a Facebook post, according to the report.

The preacher previously claimed he was "against the vaccine" in a video addressed to his followers, saying that he was "worried a bit more about what’s happening in Sydney and why is it that they are targeting these specific areas - Guilford, Yennora.”

New South Wales police deputy commissioner Mal Lanyon, however, reminded the public Tuesday to listen to actual medical professionals.

"Please listen to the medical profession, they are the ones who know the answer," Lanyon told media in a press conference following the 69 unauthorized gatherings that occurred that day amid his state's pandemic lockdown.

"The science is very clear, [COVID-19] does exist. Unfortunately, we’re seeing too many people get sick in society," the police commissioner said, after noting that "the medical profession is a profession for a reason."

The Australian Muslim Health Professionals Network last week also urged the public to "take [COVID-19] seriously."

"On behalf of all Muslim health practitioners, please take [COVID-19] seriously,” Dr. Ziad Basyouny was quoted as saying in a video uploaded to Facebook.

"It's a massive burden on us. It's a massive burden on you. It's a massive burden on our community. It could land you in dire straits. Please take it seriously," he added.