A 19-Year-Old Canadian Says He Wouldn't Wish COVID-19 On Anyone After Experiencing It

Despite reopening plans and loosened restrictions, COVID-19 is still an issue Canadians have to deal with. Even young people are susceptible, and it can be rough. The Public Health Agency of Canada shared a video of a teenager explaining how bad it can be.

The 19-year-old identifies himself as Matt and says that he had COVID-19. He begins his story by saying he went to the hospital after coughing up a large amount of blood one morning.

He got tested and received his results the next day. It seemed that no one, not even the doctors and nurses, thought that he could have it.

"As I was in the hospital my symptoms were still getting worse," he says in the video, "I needed to be admitted into the intensive care unit and it was by far the worst I've ever felt in my life."

"I wouldn't want to wish that upon anyone," he adds.

Matt was eventually released from the hospital, but says he was consumed with a different kind of fear.

"I was very scared to give it to anyone, just because of how sick I was," he said, "I definitely stayed away from my family, stayed away from everyone that I could."

The young man took the opportunity to address the attitude that some young people have about not getting that sick even if they get the virus.

"We tend to have that invincibility factor where we don't think we're going to get it or if we do it's not going to be as bad," he said.

"I'm a healthy, 19-year-old guy who loves to play sports and I still managed to get the virus. It can happen to anybody."

Recently, Dr. Theresa Tam reminded people that children and youth are still susceptible to the virus. While they may not experience severe symptoms, they are capable of spreading it to more vulnerable people.

Ontario has also reported rising numbers of cases among young people, particularly in Hamilton and the Greater Toronto Area.

Matt closes the video by saying that his advice is to follow public health guidelines. He finishes by driving home his main point, saying "I don't want anyone to have to go through what I did."