The impact of a COVID-19 infection has been well documented – as of publication of this article, there have been more than 233 million recorded COVID-19 cases and 4 million people have died from the virus. What is less known are the longer symptoms of COVID-19 that may be experienced after recovering from the initial infection, known as Long Covid.
The reality is that we still don’t have a full grip on what Long Covid is and how it manifests in the body, but the scientific community is continuing to investigate this phenomenon. That being said, what we at OTandP do know currently is that Long Covid experiences are widespread. We are committed to learning from and sharing these experiences with the greater OTandP community to exchange information and possibly fill any knowledge gaps.
We are pleased to introduce the launch of our latest blog series, The Long Covid Diaries. In this new series, you’ll hear from people like you who have either personally experienced or have cared for those who feel the effects of Long Covid. These anecdotes intend to complement the ongoing investigations researchers from around the world are conducting to better understand Long Covid. You can also learn more about Long Covid by visiting our Long Covid Resource Centre, where we provide ongoing updates on Long Covid research.
Long Covid symptoms can have detrimental effects on the daily lives of those experiencing the syndrome, as we learned in our conversation with a sports medicine physician. In Hong Kong, we don’t know exactly how many cases of Long Covid there are currently since the main symptoms of Long Covid – fatigue, breathlessness, and/or brain fog – can also be associated with many other types of illnesses. But we have been able to learn more from directly talking to and caring for those who happen to be living with Long Covid.
In our latest Long Covid Diaries blog, we spoke with Gareth who has been dealing with Long Covid symptoms over the past year. Gareth currently lives in Hong Kong and is the CEO of a digital marketing agency. Gareth has normally lived a very busy yet active and healthy lifestyle, often spending his weekends on hiking trails. But after experiencing a COVID-19 infection in March 2020, Gareth then spent months facing the physical and psychological toll of Long Covid.
Gareth visited OT&P in May 2020 when he was first experiencing Long Covid symptoms. We spoke with Gareth to check-in and see how he’s doing today, and to ask him what his experience over the past year has been living with the longer-term health effects of COVID-19. Click below to hear Gareth’s own words about the Long Covid symptoms that he (and potentially many others) have faced