A British doctor has described what it’s like to have coronavirus in a day-by-day breakdown.

Chris Gough, who works as an anaesthetist and intensivist in Oxford, took to Twitter on Monday to detail the progression of the virus after he contracted it.

The Briton is in self-isolation and says he wants to share his symptoms and experience, as a patient, to help others.

Gough explained his symptoms started with a fever and exhaustion.

“Shivers and sweats were the story of the day,” Gough wrote, adding his temperature was at 38.5 degrees at one point.

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“That and being utterly exhausted, with whole-body ache.

“One flight of stairs then stop for a rest. No appetite at all.”

Gough added he began coughing in the afternoon of ‘Day 1’ “to remind me that my lungs were also not happy”.

Chris Gough is in self-isolation after contracting the virus. Credit: Chris Gough / Twitter

He said by ‘Day 2’ he had no energy and “horizontal is the position to be in”.

“Sweats/shivers ongoing, but not as bad as yesterday,” he said, adding his cough was more noticeable and he still had no appetite.

“Intermittent headache started. Whole body still aches and feeling weak.

‘Would like to feel better’

By ‘Day 3’ , Gough said his condition deteriorated, as his headache and fatigue worsened.

“Cough less frequent. Appetite improving but far from normal,” he wrote.

“Another day of frequent naps & predominantly horizontal state.”

The next day, the doctor said his condition slightly improved but he had ongoing fatigue and a reduced appetite.

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“Cough very infrequent now,” he said.

“Whole body still aches. Functionally pretty useless. Would quite like to feel better.”

Gough said he continued to get better over the next two days.

Day 6

By ‘Day 6’, a Monday, he was “feeling a little better”.

“Or, thought I was, but then fell asleep on the sofa for an hour,” he wrote.

“So fatigue ongoing, and lacking energy.”

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The doctor ended his Twitter thread with a message for everyone, adding for people to self-isolate if they met the criteria.

“Protect your patients,” he said.

“Protect your colleagues.

“Protect your friends and family.

“Protect yourself.”