An Edinburgh man has admitted he had the "completely wrong attitude" towards coronavirus after being hospitalised.
Calum Wishart, 25, has warned people not to underestimate the deadly virus, which has now killed over 10,000 people in the UK alone.
Urging young people not to take "unnecessary risks", he explains his coronavirus symptoms quickly escalated - despite having now underlying health conditions.
Calum revealed he spent a week at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary with violent coughing fits and breathing trouble after contracting COVID-19.
Speaking last month from his hospital bed, Calum said: "I can honestly say without any doubt that this has been the most horrendous week of my life by far.
“This is not a flu, or just a cold. Some people might think right now that self-isolation is bad, but I can promise you this is one million times worse than just having to stay indoors”
He said: “The days after I can only describe as a horror show – different body parts at completely different temperatures, which is impossible to try and make yourself comfortable with.
“Eating became pretty much out of the question and I’ve not eaten a full meal in over a week.
“Sleep is pretty much impossible as well, which is excruciating because that is literally the only escape from the horror of the symptoms.
Having since returned home he has spoken out after seeing young people flock to parks over the bank holiday weekend.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast, he said: "I had the completely wrong attitude.
"I would not say I was hugging strangers or anything like that, I think I just underestimated the real impact of it.
"I had the perspective that because I was young it would not affect me, that it would be like a kind of flu."
"Young people think they’re invincible, they think that it’ll just be a cold or a 24-hour bug.
"People need to listen, they need to take this seriously", added his sister, Rachel.
For all of the latest updates on coronavirus in Edinburgh, visit our breaking news live blog here.
Another way to stay updated is by joining our new Edinburgh coronavirus news Facebook group.
For the latest guidance on coronavirus from Health Protection Scotland, click here.
