ARTIST TELLS OF

Stores shut after U-turn from firm Woman praises medics for help after she became concerned

SPORTS Direct has said it will close its stores in a major U-turn after initially calling for its workers to continue selling sports and fitness equipment in the face of coronavirus.

Chris Wootton, chief finance officer of owner Frasers Group, said its Sports Direct and Evans Cycles stores would not open their doors yesterday.

AGLASGOW woman has told how an on-call doctor told her: “Let’s hope you don’t start going the wrong way,” after she was left struggling to breathe at home, likely due to coronavirus.

The woman, who is in her 40s and otherwise healthy, became unwell around 10 day ago before the government introduced strict lockdown measures.

The artist and youth worker, who wishes to remain anonymous, had been working closely with international students before she developed symptoms including a fever and a sore throat. She told how she called NHS 111 after her breathing became progressively worse and praised medics for their swift actions.

Although she did not receive an official diagnosis because like the majority of people she was not tested, she says she was left in no doubt that she has had the virus because of how seriously her symptoms were taken by the oncall doctor.

She spoke out to warn that younger people can be badly affected by the virus as well as the elderly but added: “You can get through it.”

She said: “A friend had mild symptoms, a sore throat for a day and then a mild fever for a day then it passed, but I went onto stage 2 with lungs closing up. I called NHS 111 and through to a nurse after two hours and was passed onto a doctor who sent inhaler, steroids and antibiotics.

“Basically I got a doctor, who took it seriously and gave me a head start.

“He didn’t even need to tell me what all these things were for.

“I just knew steroids were to give me a bit of strength, and anti-biotics in case of secondary infection, Sepsis etc.

“They were amazing and delivered them in an hour in a car with a doctor who was out sending things to people at 1am. Her words were, ‘Well let’s hope these do the right thing and you don’t start going the wrong way’.

“It’s definitely Covid, can’t be anything else, but even doctors can’t say that to you on the phone. They talk about a ‘chest infection’ – but have to talk around the name.

“I still really wobbly and weak and I can feel the virus at the back of my lungs.

“I think my immune system was maybe a bit run down. It’s been awful and I’m still getting better now.

“I’m hoping there will be a test at least for antibodies made available so we can find out if people become immune.”

It comes after the wife of a man hospitalised with coronavirus called on people to “wake up” to the threat of the virus.

In an emotional Facebook post, Jennifer Colquhoun, from Glasgow, said: “My husband Stewart is 47 years old no underlying health issues and is on a ventilator in intensive care and has been since Thursday with the Coronavirus.”