‘I still have no sense of smell’: Peter and Emily Andre speak about their coronavirus battle

The singer didn’t experience ‘textbook’ symptoms with the virus

Peter and Emily Andre have spoken about their experience of having coronavirus and warned that the virus's symptoms aren't always "textbook".

In an appearance on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday, the couple spoke about how the virus has affected them and described their symptoms to viewers.

Andre, 47, admitted that he was "absolutely convinced" he didn't have Covid-19 when he first contracted the virus.

He said: "It’s quite unbelievable because everyone has different symptoms. I think one of the key things I wanted to say was don’t ignore your symptoms because they are not all going to be the same, to the point where when I had symptoms I was absolutely convinced that I didn’t have the virus.”

The NHS lists three main symptoms of the virus, these are a high temperature, a new, continuous cough and a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste. 

His wife Emily, an NHS doctor, said her husband's symptoms weren't necessarily typical. She said: "It just wasn’t textbook how it presented, it was a lesson to both of us to be vigilant of your symptoms".

The singer said he didn't have a temperature, that his cough wasn't as persistent as he'd imagined and that he was experiencing "body aches".

The star took a test (which later came back positive) and then self-isolated with wife Emily for 10 days.

He said: "There was a couple of days, it was very unpleasant but people have had it far worse than me."

The singer told Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid that he still has no sense of smell and sometimes experiences shortness of breath, though he wonders if it's a "psychological thing".

He said: “I went on a small bike ride yesterday and I was completely puffed out.” 

He added: "I am 47, I exercise, I feel quite good and yet I have a doctor in the house and had nights where I would wake up and feel like I was finding it hard to breathe. Emily was like, ‘Calm down, a lot of it is anxiety’".

As an NHS worker, Emily is hoping to have her first vaccination dose this week and said she is "looking forward to it".

Peter explained that his cousin and his cousin's son both had the virus more severely than he did and were admitted to hospital and placed on oxygen.

He said: "We are so scared about what is going to happen… when I heard that they were in a bad way… it really brought it home how serious this is."

His wife urged viewers to take Covid seriously and to get the vaccine if they are eligible.

She said: "I think sometimes you can’t persuade some people. If they are so fixed in believing that this is a big conspiracy, how many horror stories do we need to hear? 

"How many front line workers do we need to hear from? I think sometimes you can’t convince everyone but all we can do as individuals is keep sticking to the rules."