A 39-year-old coronavirus patient, who can now hardly breathe, posted a stark video from the ICU to warn people who think it won't happen to them

Tara Jane Langston/Facebook

Stills from a video made by Tara Jane Langston describing her experience of the coronavirus.

• A 39-year-old coronavirus patient in the UK posted a harrowing video from her hospital bed in which she said breathing is now "like having glass in your lungs," according to MailOnline.
• The outlet said Tara Jane Langston was a healthy gym-goer who previously felt the coronavirus issue was being overblown.
• She made the video as a warning to others who are still not socially distancing, saying: "Don't take any chances."
• The UK has reported 2,717 cases and 137 deaths from the disease.
• Prime Minister Boris Johnson called for all "non-essential" socializing to end on Monday, but many have ignored this.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A 39-year-old woman being treated for the coronavirus made a harrowing video from her hospital bed in an intensive care unit, aimed at "anyone who's thinking of taking any chances."

In the video, which has spread widely on social media, Tara Jane Langston showed viewers the two tubes in her arms and the breathing tube she was using, gasping for breath as she spoke.

Since making the video she has partially recovered and has been moved out of the ICU.

Describing her state in the video, she told MailOnline: "It's like having glass in your lungs."

Langston, whom MailOnline said is at Hillingdon Hospital, in London, said in the video: "For anyone who's thinking of taking any chances, just take a look at me [...] Because if it gets really bad, then you're going to end up here."

During the video she says that even her distressing condition then is "ten times better" than she felt earlier.

The UK had 2,717 reported cases of the coronavirus as of early March 20, and 137 deaths. However, UK authorities are only routinely testing those who are already in the hospital, so the true figure is likely higher.

Langston told MailOnline that she once thought the coronavirus was being overblown, and made the video to warn her colleagues from meeting up at an event they had planned.

"I had that attitude before of: 'It's a load of nonsense, it's just being all hyped up' before I got this - I wasn't one to buy into all the hysteria. But then I got the coronavirus and I never again want to experience anything like it because it was a deeply unpleasant experience."

Langston is reportedly an active gym-goer and mother of two. As she is under 70, she is not considered a high-risk category for serious COVID-19.

However, she said other cases she saw in the hospital looked to be around 50 and 60 years old.

Frank Augstein-WPA Pool/Getty Images

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson giving a press conference during the coronavirus crisis.

On Monday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on citizens to avoid "all non-essential" contact and travel, including socializing in pubs or nightclubs. He said that without these measures cases of the virus could double every five or six days.

However, without a direct order to close, pubs and other businesses are still packed with people, particularly during St Patrick's Day celebrations on Tuesday, the Metro reported.

Langston said to MailOnline: "People have to realise that they need to self-isolate, it's the only way. Believe me."

Gasping to speak in the video, she also told smokers to "put the cigarettes down."

"Because I'm telling you now, you need your f---ing lungs."

People celebrate St Patrick's Day in the city centre of Edinburgh, Scotland, despite the prime minister's earlier warning to avoid non-essential social contact. March 17, 2020

She also said that the hospital was running out of face masks, and that she saw one nurse using something that looked like cellophane over her face.

Her husband told the MailOnline that she is doing well since making the video, and now needs much less oxygen.

Business Insider has contacted the Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, but has not yet received a reply.

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