A LEADING Bradford figure has revealed he thought "about death" during dark times of fighting against coronavirus.

Zulfiqar Karim, President of the Bradford Council for Mosques, spoke to his friend, Professor John Wright, as part of BBC Radio 4's most recent "The NHS Front Line" podcast.

He "got sick" on the same day as Boris Johnson and also deteriorated, as the Prime Minister did.

The well-known Bradford figure is "out of danger" now, as the podcast says, but he vividly remembers his experience.

Mr Karim said: "It was dark, and it was a dark hall and that dark hall really stayed with me for a good few days.

“If you asked me the question whether I think I was going to die at that moment in time, yes I think there were a couple of days where it was very difficult and you couldn’t see the wood for the trees, or you couldn’t see light at that end of the tunnel.

"So yes, I did for those few moments that I would be coming up and was alert, I did think about death, for sure."

In the first episode of "The NHS Front Line", Professor Wright also spoke to Mr Karim on Friday, March 20, to discuss the cancellation of Friday prayers at mosques.

The phone-call proved to be the first insight into how the coronavirus may have started to first take its toll on Mr Karim.

While answering a question, he seemed short of breath and had a cough.

Professor Wright said: "Zulfi, I can hear from you coughing on the phone that you're not so well yourself, what's happening with your own health?"

Mr Karim responded: "I've developed shortness of breath and a cough, with a few other symptoms.

"So I took advice from my GP, and also those wonderful people at 111, who have basically advised me to self-isolate and keep away from the old man in the house as well."

At that time, it was not confirmed that he definitely had COVID-19.

He said: "It's very difficult, but I'd rather stay at home and not put too much pressure on the hospital now as well, unless my symptoms get worse."

Mr Karim also explained how they protected his dad at the time.

He said: "We've isolated him in a separate room downstairs and luckily we have two bathrooms, so he's got his own bathroom."

The total number of lab-confirmed UK cases of the COVID-19 sits at 103,093 so far, with 13,729 deaths in hospitals.

Mr Karim says suffering from the illness himself and being in hospital during the pandemic, has given him a sense of perspective as to the reality of the crisis.

He said: "It probably gives me the real sense of the enormity and how dangerous and how much of a killer this is.

"As well as protecting, this is now very much about how we deal with end of life, unfortunately, and supporting those that are vulnerable and also how we deal with the bereaved as well."