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A university student believed to be the first Briton to contract the coronavirus later died of respiratory failure, according to research.
Connor Ellis Reed, 26, was found dead in the bedroom of his Bangor residence in October 2020, the Daily Post reports.
His body was discovered by friends between his bed and his desk when they worried that they had not seen him for a period of time, it was said at the beginning of an investigation.
Reed, from Llandudno, Wales, made headlines in February last year when it was said that he had become the first Briton to contract coronavirus.
He had been working at a school in Wuhan, China and fell ill in November 2019 before apparently making a full recovery.
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(Image: Connor Reed / Facebook)
He then left the country to spend time with his family in Australia before returning to Wales to study Chinese and linguistics at Bangor University.
Mr. Reed kept a journal while ill in Wuhan, listing his symptoms and sharing his three and a half week ordeal with the world.
He described his initial “sneeze” and took notes on the first 10 troublesome days, writing that he believed he had gotten through the worst of the illness on day 11.
But the 12th brought a relapse, when Mr. Reed questioned whether he might be dying.
He wrote: “Just when I thought the flu was getting better, it has come back strong. My breathing is labored.
“Just getting up and going to the bathroom leaves me panting and exhausted. I’m sweating, burning, dizzy and shivering.
(Image: Connor Reed / Facebook)
“The television is on, but I can’t understand it. This is a nightmare.
“In the afternoon, I feel like I’m drowning. I have never been so sick in my life.
“I can’t take more than sips of air and when I exhale my lungs sound like a crumpled paper bag.
“This is not right. I need to see a doctor. But if I call the emergency services, I will have to pay for the ambulance call myself.
“That’s going to cost a fortune. I’m sick, but I don’t think I’m dying, am I?”
Mr. Reed later said he was well enough to go back to work after 24 days of illness.
Acting Chief Coroner Katie Sutherland said in the investigation that the provisional cause of Mr. Reed’s death was respiratory failure due to bronchopneumonia caused by the combined toxicity of the drugs.
The investigation, held in Caernarfon, has been postponed pending a full investigation.
Reed’s family was unable to travel to Britain from Australia for his funeral due to coronavirus restrictions and had to watch a live broadcast.
Heartbroken relatives described him as an “adventurous” and “happy” young man after his death.
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