A FIREMAN who was bedridden with coronavirus has warned others not to be complacent and to do everything they can to avoid catching it.

Watch manager Kevin Morgan, 35 from Chinnor, has been a firefighter for 15 years, but caught coronavirus in the spring.

Now the number of Covid-19 cases is on the rise in Oxford, he has urged others not be complacent.

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The father of two young children had Covid-19 in May along with his wife.

This week he said: “This is not something you want any involvement with if you can avoid it.

"I had moderate symptoms – but it was not a pleasant time in my life.”

Mr Morgan described his symptoms by saying he just did not feel right.

He said: “I had the symptoms of loss and taste and smell and started to feel unwell. I just didn’t feel right.

“I was very lethargic and doing even the most simple things felt like a very big effort. I had several days of just being in bed.

“Getting up to go to the bathroom or to get a drink was a real effort.”

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It took more than a week for the firefighter to return to ‘normality’.

By June he was able to go back into work, but he found at the end of the working day he would feel more tired than usual.

Mr Morgan said: “My wife had the persistent cough that is a well know Covid-19 symptom.

"This was followed by similar symptoms to the ones I had.

“She’s currently pregnant and so that was also a worry and we are glad that everything has turned out OK.”

However, the father of two also worried that the worst of the symptoms would not be over and feared ending up in hospital on a ventilator.

Mr Morgan was particularly concerned because he is mixed race, and the virus has been shown to hit people from ethnic minorities harder than white people.

He is also warning people aged between 18 and 30 in Oxford and tells them to think twice’ before relaxing.

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He said: “I would say to people in that age group and everyone else - do everything you can not to put yourself in this position. Listen to the advice.

“The doctors and scientists are giving out this advice for a very good reason – washing your hands and keeping social distancing in mind is what gives you the best chance of avoiding this virus.”

He added: “As a firefighter I have to regularly pass fitness tests and so consider myself fit.

"Even with that level of fitness this was a tough experience.

"This virus doesn’t discriminate between those that are fit and healthy and those who are not."

Ansaf Azhar, Oxfordshire County Council’s director for public health said: “Even though Kevin and his wife had moderate cases of this virus they are very clear in saying that it is best that you do everything to avoid contracting it and passing it on to others.

"Let’s contain this virus in Oxfordshire and #stopthespread."