A 36-year-old nurse and mother-of-three is on a ventilator in intensive care after contracting coronavirus.
Areema Nasreen is being treated at Walsall Manor Hospital in the West Midlands where she works and is in a critical condition.
Her sister, Kazeema Nasreen, who works as a healthcare assistant at the same hospital, told Sky News the family thinks she could have picked it up “virtually anywhere”.
The 22-year-old said her sister, from Walsall, was on annual leave when she first started showing symptoms and does not think she picked it up at work.
Ventilator
She confirmed her sister is currently in a critical condition and on a ventilator, but “making tiny little progress”.
Speaking to BirminghamLive on Sunday, Kazeema Nasreen urged everyone to “take coronavirus seriously”.
She said: “My sister who is an amazing nurse on the front line and who always helps so many has now caught this virus.
“She is critically ill in ICU (intensive care unit), on a ventilator and fighting for her life.
“I want everyone to know how dangerous this is. My sister is only 36 and is normally fit and healthy.
“People are not taking this seriously enough. She is young – it is not just the elderly who are at risk.”
She said the family are “heartbroken” but she praised the staff at Walsall Manor Hospital who have gone “above and beyond” in their care for her sister.
“Areema loves the NHS,” she said. “Her colleagues are like a second family and they have been truly amazing with her – and us.
“They are keeping us all strong and doing everything they can for her.”
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