10-20% Covid-affected people experience long-term effects: Health ministry

global evidence suggests 10-20% of people who develop COVID-19 experience a variety of mid- and long-term effects after they recover from their initial illness, the Lok Sabha was informed.

Current global evidence suggests approximately 10 to 20 per cent of people who develop COVID-19 experience a variety of mid- and long-term effects after they recover from their initial illness, the Lok Sabha was informed on Friday.

The Union health ministry had on October 21, 2021 issued National Comprehensive Guidelines for Management of Post-Covid Sequelae, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar said in a written reply.

"According to the World Health Organisation, most people who develop coronavirus fully recover, but current global evidence suggests that approximately 10 per cent-20 per cent of people experience a variety of mid- and long-term effects after they recover from their initial illness," Pawar said in her reply.

The symptoms of long Covid may include fatigue, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, memory, concentration or sleep problems, persistent cough, chest pain, difficulty in speaking, muscle aches, loss of smell or taste, depression or anxiety and fever.

The National Comprehensive Guidelines for Management of Post-Covid Sequelae contains detailed guidance for doctors on managing post-COVID complications affecting cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, nephrological, neurological and respiratory systems and rehabilitation from such complications, Pawar stated.

She was responding to a question on the problems that occur over the

long-term because of COVID-19 and the estimates of the number of people suffering from such conditions/symptoms.