PATIENTS URGE ALL TO STICK TO RULES

CORONAVIRUS patients have made a heartrending plea to the public from their hospital beds: “Please stick to the rules and stay safe.”

Speaking at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, they told how the NHS staff are “absolutely amazing” and doing a great job.

We were given permission this week to talk to patients being treated in former plastic surgery and cardiology wards.

Bus driver James Coyle, 52, and his wife Carole, 51, from Newcastle, were both taken there after becoming ill and were being looked after in separate wards.

Mr Coyle said: “About a fortnight ago, I had a loss of taste and smell, and I started feeling really lousy, with aches and pains. I had a test and it came back positive.

“I had to come to hospital on Monday. My breathing had become difficult. My wife also started to get symptoms and she also had to come to hospital. But the staff are fantastic. They have been brilliant.”