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Connor Reed was one of the first British people to be diagnosed with coronavirus. Now that he has made a full recovery, he has spoken to Channel 4 about what it was like
Originally from Wales, Connor Reed has been working as a teacher in Wuhan, China for almost a year. In late 2019, he became one of the first people to catch Covid-19 (though at that stage, it was believed to be just the flu, which then escalated to pneumonia).
Since making a full recovery, Connor has spoken out about what it was like to live with the virus, as well as his experience of being in self-isolation.
“This virus happens in different stages,” he told Channel 4 News. “You get better before you get worse.
“In my case, the first stage was a cold. Just a common cold. My nose was stuffy, I had ear problems, sinus problems. But you get better before you get worse – so I was getting better, and that’s when I got hit with the flu.
“Now, I’ve had the flu half a dozen times and this was the worst I’ve felt. It wasn’t life-threatening but I did feel terrible. I was stuck in bed, I had a headache, I was just generally feeling unwell. And as I was getting better from the flu, I got hit with pneumonia.
“I’d never had that before, so that was quite serious for me. That’s the point when I went to the hospital,” Connor said. “Pneumonia feels like you’ve only got 20% of your lungs working. You can’t take a full breath like you need to. It’s not a fun thing at all.”
Connor then went on to talk about living in isolation, and how at the time of the interview, he had been stuck in his flat for 40 days.
You can watch Connor Reed’s full chat with Channel 4 News below:
Photo: Channel 4 News
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