‘Deadliest Catch’ Captain Hospitalized With COVID-19

Deadliest Catch Captain Keith Colburn has been hospitalized with COVID-19. Colborn announced in a video posted from his hospital room that he’d had the virus for at least 20 days. He maintains he went 10 days without needing any medication while he self-quarantined, but he still wound up needing to seek medical attention. While the virus has worked its way out of Colburn’s system, he claims he’s still dealing with its after-effects. He’s now battling a case of pneumonia as a result of his coronavirus diagnosis that’s left him in the hospital for the last eight days.

Captain Colburn went on to encourage his followers to get the vaccine if they’re able, saying a shot is better than living with the virus for 20 days, being in the hospital, or potentially not being able to breathe. He tells some of his followers who don’t believe in the virus, “Covid is real,” in his caption. “I’m sharing my story in the hopes that it may help you take actions to steer clear of this virus,” he added. There are also many people within the Deadliest Catch fanbase that remain hesitant to take the coronavirus vaccine.

He’s received a great amount of support from his fans since his hospitalization. Many of whom sent along well wishes or shared their personal anecdotes underneath his original post. Some mentioned losing family members due to the pandemic, others announced that they’re also in the hospital with COVID and deeply regretted not getting the vaccine. There were also a few fans that said they were now contemplating getting the vaccine.

The Captain isn’t the only Deadliest Catch cast member to catch COVID. Andy Hillstrand was another member of the ship to contract the virus, causing him to take a break from the show. Josh Harris stood in for him, at Jonathan Hillstrand’s request. Viewers also saw a scare in Season 17. Nick McGlashan was sick in his bunk, leading him to take a COVID test. Luckily, his test results came back negative, but it still left a mark among the others in the crew. The scare prevented them from grabbing any crabs that day.