The Bachelor star Colton Underwood has admitted that he is having a "rougher" time than expected after testing positive for coronavirus.

The 28-year-old revealed over the weekend that he has contracted the deadly COVID-19 disease, which has claimed more than 16,500 lives worldwide to date.

The former San Diego Chargers tight-end issued a fresh health update on Monday evening from the family home of his girlfriend, where he is isolating for the next few weeks.

"The last few days were rougher than I expected," he wrote on Instagram. "The most prominent symptoms are my cough, night sweats and shortness of breathe. Breathing is challenging, the best way to describe it is feeling like I only have access to 20% of my lungs.

"I can only imagine how people with pre-existing health conditions feel with this. I've been journaling throughout this and I'll share some of those soon."

Last night the UK was forced into lockdown for three weeks by the government but the US has yet to introduce similar measures.