St. Louis, Missouri – Dr. Ken Remy works in an intensive care unit at the Washington University Medical Center in St. Louis. In a bone-chilling video, he showed Twitter users what the experience of a critically ill Covid-19 patient looks like.

"I hope that the last moments of your life don't look like this," Remy said.

Almost completely covered by a mask, hood, and protective goggles, he rapidly moves the camera towards and away from his face: "This is what it looks like when you breathe 40 times a minute and have an oxygen level that's dipping well below 80."

By comparison, healthy people take 12 to 18 breaths per minute.

For people who don't take coronavirus precautions seriously, Remy has a dire warning. "I promise you, this will be what you see. I promise you, this will be what your mother or your father or your children when they get Covid disease will see at the end of their life," he says, approaching the camera with an oxygen tube.

With the Twitter clip, the physician doesn't just want to demonstrate how dramatic a coronavirus infection can be.

Remy also intends to motivate coronavirus deniers and mask opponents to finally start protecting themselves and others.

Remy is urging people around the country to take proper precautions. Only then will he and his colleagues be able to do their best to protect and treat those affected, without exceeding their own physical and mental limits.

The doctor told CNN that he has already treated more than 1,000 Covid-19 patients, more than 100 of whom required artificial ventilation.

According to Remy, there has been a significant increase not only in the number of infections but also in the number of hospitalizations in recent weeks. The soaring death rate is overcrowding the mortuary at his hospital.

On Twitter, he received a lot of recognition for his work and his urgent appeal.

Some users, who themselves survived a coronavirus infection, confirm the doctor's account.

One wrote: "I had a severe case of Covid and am home now after 7 days in the Covid unit, but have oxygen. I don’t know how long I’ll need it. But this hit so close to home. It’s terrifying. While most won’t need this, so many will."