Ellen DeGeneres slept for 16 hours a day when she was battling coronavirus

She said: "So for the first three days I slept for 16 hours a day, then the fourth day I woke up with back spasms so thought I'd pulled a muscle or slept funny.

"But it persisted so the doctor put me on painkillers and muscle relaxers - jackpot! Finally this thing is paying off. The pain killers didn't help, it felt like I had cracked a rib. So they put me on a steroid pack, but they make you really speedy and edgy. So I stayed on all of it, pain killers, muscle relaxers and steroids - not sure if that's the best way, I'm not a doctor."

And on speaking to other people who have had the virus, Ellen revealed they also experienced back pain but she is lucky that she has "started feeling better".

Speaking on her daytime talk show, 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show', she added: "I'm still on them, I find the relaxers helpful. I spoke to my brother and told him about the back pain, he had a friend with the same then and then I spoke to several other people.

"So now apparently back pain is a symptom of covid. Now you know! It's the only symptom I had. I started to feel better so I'm very fortunate and feeling okay now. I don't know how I got it, I wear a mask and wash my hands, and only licked three door handles. To the people struggling with the illness right now my heart goes out to them."