A record 2 million people are now battling long Covid in the UK, the Office for National Statistics (ONS( says.
The tally – which equates to more than 3% of the population – has been continuing to rise since around the middle of last year and is accurate up to May 1.
Of those with self-reported long Covid, at least 376,000 (19%) have had it for more than two years.
Some 826,000 (42%) suspected they were first infected at least one year previously, 1.4 million people (72%) at least 12 weeks previously, and 442,000 (22%) less than 12 weeks previously.
The ONS is defining long Covid as symptoms ‘continuing for more than four weeks after the first suspected infection’, which were not explained by something else.
The illness is impacted the day-to-day activities of 1.4 million people, with nearly 400,000 reporting that their ability to go about their day-to-day activities had been ‘limited a lot’.
Metro.co.uk has reported on the plight of children battling long Covid, as well as young adults struggling to get back to work after more than six months – and some of the earliest known cases.
Among them was a singing teacher who can no longer sing to her grandchildren after a suspected infection before Christmas 2019 – and others who passed their apparent two-year anniversary of being infected over the last festive period.
They have battled a horrifying array of severe symptoms, but experiences vary dramatically and many people recover from the virus, particularly after being vaccinated, quickly and with little or no long-term issues.
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