British man loses 70 pounds during six-week coronavirus battle

An obese British man says he unexpectedly has a new lease of life after losing a stunning 70 pounds during a six-week near-death battle with the coronavirus.

Kim Wai Li, 43, first fell ill from the virus on March 12 — and spent almost two weeks in a medically induced coma before finally leaving a London hospital on April 22.

He went in weighing 210 pounds at just 5-foot-6 — but was 140 pounds by the time he finally made it home. His waist also dropped four inches.

“I didn’t recognize myself in the mirror when I saw how much weight I’d lost,” Li told UK agency Triangle News, recalling the shock on the faces of his wife and two young kids when they finally saw him.

His battle with the bug initially left him too weak to shower or even feed himself. But now he is getting stronger, he appreciates the fresh start his staggering weight loss is offering.

Li blames his obesity for getting hit so hard by the contagion in the first place — along with causing the high blood pressure that vanished along with the weight.

“I’m determined to keep my weight where it is. It’s a second lease of life,” he told the UK agency. “I was on pills for my blood pressure when I went in and it’s now within normal limits.”

“How else can you take it? You can either sit there and think ‘Wow that was a really depressing episode of my life’ and let it affect you or take it for what it is — that you’ve been very, very lucky,” he said.

Kim Wai’s wife of five years, Ceri, 38, said she barely recognized her husband when he first returned to their home in south London.

“There’s no more junk food for him,” she said. “He’s got a second chance. It’s a wake-up call.”