A student believed to be the first Brit to have coronavirus has died following a ‘tragic accident’ at university.
Connor Reed, 26, had been a teacher in Wuhan, China, when the pandemic began and caught the virus in late November, without knowing what it was at the time. After his recovery, he returned to the UK to study for a Chinese language degree at Bangor University.
His mum Hayley has now confirmed her son, from Llandudno, Wales, was found dead in his halls of residence at the university. Writing on Facebook, she said: ‘It brings me great sadness to announce our beautiful son Connor Reed has passed away in a tragic accident at Bangor University at the weekend.
‘He will be so greatly missed by his brothers, family and friends. He had such a wonderful smile, enthusiasm and love for life.
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‘We are blessed to of had you in our lives if only for a very short time. Rest in peace our darling (sic).’
Hayley told The Sun her son had ‘endured a lot of hardship in China’ and had undergone ‘more lockdown than anyone we have known’, including 16 weeks in China, two weeks in Australia and three weeks in the UK.
She continued: ‘We are both broken-hearted that his adventures came to an end at Bangor University where he was studying for a degree in Chinese language with what looks like a tragic accident. We will never know where his ambition and drive would have taken him.’
North Wales confirmed they had been called to a room a Bangor University halls of residence shortly after 10pm on October 25.
Connor was pronounced dead at the scene, despite the best efforts of paramedics. His death is not being treated as suspicious.
Earlier this year Connor had told how he had beaten coronavirus with a ‘glass of hot whisky and honey’ after falling ill in Wuhan while it was the epicentre of the world.
He moved to Wuhan during the summer last year and told how the virus caused the city to become unrecognisable from when he first arrived.
He said: ‘It is quite scary because normally the streets are bustling, there are people dancing and singing, it’s normally a very jovial place. But at the moment it is very dead and you can feel that atmosphere.’
Describing his own infection, Connor had told ITV’s This Morning: ‘It comes in three stages, first you have a common cold and then it progresses into the flu and then finally pneumonia.
‘During the cold stage it wasn’t so bad, it was definitely during the flu and the pneumonia that’s when I thought it’s getting quite serious. That’s the point that I went to the hospital.’
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