British boxer Anthony Yarde said his father has died after contracting coronavirus.
“My dad passed away from this virus yesterday,” the 28-year-old wrote Saturday on his Instagram story. “He was fit with no health issues.”
Yarde, one of the world’s top light-heavyweight boxers, said he hopes to use his personal experience as a wake-up call for others to quarantine at home amid the COVID-19 outbreak, which has claimed over 30,000 lives worldwide.
“The more people go out and mingle the longer this isolation will last and the more it will spread,” Yarde wrote.
“I’m not a doctor but I do know if you stay home you are less likely to catch it and pass it on,” he continued. “It’s seriously not worth the risk.”
As of Sunday afternoon, over 19,000 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the UK.
Yarde was slated to fight in London next month before the event was postponed, according to The Independent.
