Sign up for our special edition newsletter to get a daily update on the coronavirus pandemic.

A spring breaker from Ohio who went viral last week for downplaying the coronavirus outbreak while partying in Miami has apologized for his remarks.

“I would like to sincerely apologize for the insensitive comment I made in regards to COVID-19 while on spring break,” Brady Sluder wrote in a Sunday Instagram post.

Sluder became the face of defiant spring breakers in The Sunshine State when he told Reuters that he would not let the global pandemic interfere with his planned trip.

“If I get corona, I get corona,” Sluder said in the interview, which was also filmed and broadcast on countless cable networks across the country.

“At the end of the day, I’m not going to let it stop me from partying,” he said.

By Sunday, however, with time to reflect, Sluder issued a wordy apology.

“I wasn’t aware of the severity of my actions and comments,” said Sluder. “Our generation may feel invincible, like I did when I commented, but we have a responsibility to listen and follow the recommendations in our communities.”

At the time Sluder and his pals were reveling, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had already advised people to remain roughly 6 feet apart from each other to help curb the spread of the the illness. President Trump had also recommended avoiding gatherings of 10 or more people.

Sluder on Sunday said he understands the severity of the virus and its potentially deadly effect on elderly people.

“I’ve learned from these trying times and I’ve felt the repercussions to the fullest,” he wrote. “Unfortunately, simply apologizing doesn’t justify my behavior. I’m simply owning up to my mistakes and taking full responsibility for my actions.”