‘I BEAT KILLER VIRUS WITH HOT TODDIES’
AWELSHMAN is thought to be the first Brit to have caught the potentially fatal coronavirus.
Connor Reed, from Llandudno, works at a college in Wuhan, in China, and was diagnosed with the virus at the beginning of December.
The 25-year-old thought at first he had flu, and was off work trying to get better by staying in bed at his apartment.
Although he started feeling better, he then developed a cough and a sore throat and lost his voice.
These were all telltale signs of the virus which has killed 361 people so far in China.
“The cough turned into pneumonia-type thing, and I ended up in hospital as my breathing was as if I was breathing into a paper bag,” said the former pupil of Ysgol Bro Gwydir, in Llanrwst.
“I didn’t want to take any antibiotics and just drank hot toddies made of hot whiskey and honey, and that really helped my sore throat.”
He added: “I’m walking proof you can survive the coronavirus.”
Connor, whose parents Hayley and Rod moved from Llandudno to Australia around a decade ago, says he was ill for around two weeks but has since made a full recovery.
“I honestly don’t think the virus is as serious as all that. The people who have died must have had underlying health problems,” he said.
“The streets where I live are pretty empty, which is quite eerie, and some of the shops have sold out of groceries. I’m doing paperwork at home, and I’ve been told by my boss the college won’t reopen until March.”
Although the British government evacuated hundreds of people from Wuhan province, where the coronavirus first struck, Connor didn’t consider getting on a plane home.
“I think the panic has gone from the province, people are feeling more positive. I think to be fair the Chinese Government have been quite transparent with what’s going on,” he said.
“My kitten caught the feline coronavirus and developed pneumonia and died, but I don’t think I caught it from her. I think that was just coincidence. I think (I may have caught it) at the fish market I go to, but then again, it could have been anywhere.”
Mandarin-speaking Connor, who still has family living in Llandudno, says he loves living in China because it’s a country that’s still has its own traditions and culture.
His next move is Russia, where he plans to teach and learn the language.
ONE of the Britons who returned from coronavirus-hit China on Sunday has said he now feels “fine” after a cough and sore throat led to him being put in isolation.
Anthony May-Smith is being cared for in Oxford after feeling unwell as he made his way back to England.
He travelled on the second evacuation flight carrying 11 British nationals from Wuhan to France, and then continued his journey to RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.
Mr May-Smith said he had had “a bit of a cough and a sore throat” in China and was put in a quarantine area with about 30 others on the initial flight from Wuhan to France.
He told Sky News: “When we boarded the plane in France to come to the UK, the nurse asked if any of us had had any symptoms. I made myself known to her and she told me to sit away from anybody else on the flight. There were people with babies on the flight and I obviously just didn’t want to be anywhere near them.
“I feel fine now, I think it’s probably the stress of getting back and being run down more than anything.
“I’m waiting for the test results to come back tomorrow.”
Mr May-Smith said it is “a little bit daunting” when medics enter his room as they wear a face mask, are “all covered up, (have) four pairs of gloves and wellingtons”.
The other 10 British nationals continued their journey to join 83 other people in isolation at Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral.
All those who have returned from Hubei province in China are being quarantined in staff accommodation blocks on the site.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “During the most recent repatriation flight one passenger developed mild, coldlike symptoms. Following the agreed protocol, this individual was further separated from others on the flight and after landing was taken by ambulance to a specialist NHS facility for further assessment.
“The remaining passengers remain symptom-free and have been taken to Arrowe Park. They will be kept entirely separate from the first group of British nationals to arrive.
“Our robust processes continue to ensure there is no risk to the wider public from those in quarantine or those undergoing further treatment.”
It is understood Mr May-Smith wore a face mask on the flight.
Public Health England conducted a risk assessment before the plane door was opened, and confirmed the other 10 passengers could be allowed off the plane.
The Department of Health said on Monday that 326 UK tests for coronavirus have concluded, of which 324 are negative.
Two people, a University of York student and one of their relatives, continue to be treated for coronavirus in the specialist infectious diseases unit at Newcastle Royal Victoria Infirmary.
Officials are still trying to trace 239 people who travelled from Wuhan to the UK before travel restrictions came into force.
It comes as the British Embassy in Beijing tweeted that the last flights from China to the UK for British nationals are set to leave this week.
It said flights will be run by “partner countries” and any British national and their immediate families, including those with non-UK passports, must make themselves known if they wish to travel.
“These may be the last flights for foreign nationals out of Hubei,” the message said.