The nature of this virus is it will get you – runner, 29, opens up on Covid-19

A long-distance runner who is recovering from Covid-19 has shared a video of him talking about his experience on Facebook as he warned young people to take the disease seriously.

Daryl Doblados, 29, was diagnosed with coronavirus on Thursday after he called 111 and was taken to hospital by ambulance.

The father of two, who has no underlying health conditions and ran the Cambridge Half Marathon a fortnight ago, said he had a shortness of breath that felt like drowning.

“It just feels like your lungs are filling up with smoke or liquid,” he said. “I struggled to breathe.

“I’ve never experienced anything like this before.”

He was discharged from hospital eight hours after his admission, with a consultant advising him to monitor his breathing and to call 111 again if it worsened.

He was taken home by his partner.

The project manager posted a video of himself from his home in Littleport, Cambridgeshire, where he is self-isolating, urging people to socially distance to stop the spread of infection.

Mr Doblados, who works at a research park in Cambridge, said he is confined to his bedroom for seven days and his partner and two children must stay in the house for 14 days.

He said he was told that his diagnosis was a “mild case”.

“I’m still struggling now on day four of recovery,” he said. “Everything else has improved but my breathing difficulties are still there.

“If I don’t concentrate on my breathing then it feels just like you’re drowning.

“Two weeks ago I ran the Cambridge Half Marathon and I was healthy as anything, and I tend to normally do long-distance running and I’m quite a healthy guy, very sporty as well.

“To hit me like this, it proves I’m definitely not invincible.”

He said he posted a video of his experience on Facebook to warn young people to take the disease seriously.

“They are just as human as I am and no matter how healthy you think you are and how high your immunity is, it doesn’t really matter,” he said.

“The nature of this virus is that it will get you.

“For the young people out there, we need to make sure that we do this, do this right, we stay away from as many people as possible to stop the spread of infection.

“We don’t want our loved ones to get this.”