"COVID is NOT a joke and is not to be played with," said Jett Stanton, currently in a Sydney hospital with Covid-19. Photo / Supplied
"COVID is NOT a joke and is not to be played with," said Jett Stanton, currently in a Sydney hospital with Covid-19. Photo / Supplied
An unvaccinated young Covid patient has described his horrific symptoms from his western Sydney hospital bed, saying he felt like something was stuck in his chest and he woke up sweating.
Jett Stanton, who is 21 years of age, was a close contact of a known case and returned a positive result on Wednesday.
Stanton, who was unvaccinated, is now recovering in Liverpool Hospital. His two unvaccinated housemates have also tested positive but his girlfriend, who was fully vaccinated, was negative.
His condition rapidly deteriorated and triggered severe anxiety attacks, which prompted his girlfriend to call an ambulance on Thursday night.
Speaking to NCA NewsWire on the phone from his hospital bed on Sunday, Stanton said he had no underlying health conditions, was active, ate well and didn't smoke or drink.
But despite his healthy lifestyle, he said Covid made him fear for his life.
"I remember I had the most uncomfortable cold sweats I've ever had in my life, and I still do.
"Over time new symptoms started to pop up like stabbing chest pain and uncontrollable coughing. I felt like something was caught in my throat and chest."
He said symptoms came in waves - one moment he was fine and the next he felt like he'd been hit by a bus.
"I was on the phone to mum last night about 10.30 pm and I felt really good but at about 10.45 pm I thought I was going to pass out," Stanton said.
"And I don't even know if this is going to be the worst day yet. Symptoms can be worse in the second week."
His housemates who were also unvaccinated tested positive, but Stanton's vaccinated girlfriend returned a negative result.
"My girlfriend was at risk of catching Covid but she's the only one that came back negative. It just goes to show that vaccines definitely work," he said.
NSW recorded 830 new infections on Sunday, breaking the record for daily case numbers, and there are fears more dark days are ahead.
Stanton, who moved to Sydney from Brisbane to pursue a skateboarding career, warned others that Covid-19 wasn't just an old person's disease.
"COVID is NOT a joke and is not to be played with," said Jett Stanton, currently in a Sydney hospital with Covid-19. Photo / Supplied
"I'm a pretty healthy individual. I've never been drunk in my life, I don't smoke and I take vitamins daily. I eat healthy and I'm an athlete but I still feel like my life was threatened by the virus," he said.
He also suffers severe anxiety which caused him to have several panic attacks and pass out more than once in the space of three hours.
Stanton said his experience encouraged him to issue a stern message to others, not to break the rules.
A protester is apprehended by NSW Police in Victoria Park at an anti-lockdown protest which gathered despite current Covid-19 restrictions. Photo / Getty
"People are obviously just too privileged to realise what they actually have," Stanton said.
"They don't know how good they have it. So the fact they're protesting for their freedom is disgusting."
There are currently 557 Covid-19 cases in hospital with 94 people in intensive care, 31 of whom are on a ventilator.
Millions of people in Queensland and New South Wales have been warned to brace for days without power after Tropical Cyclone Alfred makes landfall later this week.
