A doctor working in intensive care has described how catching coronavirus "wiped him out" and led to him sleeping for up to 18 hours a day.
Dr David Hepburn, an intensive care consultant at the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport, said Covid-19 made him unwell for several days. He warned that many of the patients ending up in intensive care are not old and vulnerable, but are young and active.
The experienced consultant has urged British people to heed government advice, to obey the lockdown rules and prevent the virus spreading further.
"I'd like to tell you that I got coronavirus from heroically looking after some of these patients but actually the reality is much more mundane," he said.
"I think I probably caught this from contact with colleagues at work or possibly somebody out in the street before any of the coronavirus patients arrived on the intensive care unit.
"It started off very innocuously. I had a burning sensation in my nose, I lost my sense of taste, I never had a cough and then I've had a week of feeling absolutely terrible.
"Aching muscles, aching bones and unable to get out of bed - sleeping between 16 and 18 hours a day. I'm on the mend now thankfully, I hope, but I can't emphasise to you how sick this can make you."
Latest figures from Public Health Wales have revealed that 17 people have now died from coronavirus in Wales, with 478 people being officially diagnosed.
Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, which runs the Royal Gwent Hospital, has more cases than the rest of Wales combined and is the UK's worst coronavirus hotspot outside London, as this map shows. Follow updates on the world coronavirus pandemic on our live blog.
Dr Heburn, who has now recovered from Covid-19, said his team in intensive care are looking after a lot of patients who are critically unwell with coronavirus.
"Some of them are younger than I am and they are certainly not the frail, elderly people that maybe some of us have been led to believe we would be seeing," he added.
"They are young, they are fit and they have young families."
Dr Hepburn urged the public to follow the isolation advice issued in a televised statement from Boris Johnson on Monday night.
It includes leaving home only to exercise once a day, travelling to and from work where “absolutely necessary”, shopping for essential items and to fulfil any medical or care needs.
The Prime Minister has also banned public gatherings of more than two people, ordered the immediate closure of all shops selling non-essential items and given police the power to issue fines.
The restrictions will be under constant review and a relaxation of the rules will be considered in three weeks.
Dr Hepburn added: "Please, please listen to the advice that's going around at the minute.
"This is a small sacrifice for a short period of time and then life will get back to normal again but we have to protect everybody and we have to protect the NHS."
