Have your say: Are you worried about 'long COVID'?

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the UK, more people will suffer “debilitating” long-term after-effects of a related infection, academics have warned.

Some people are still suffering symptoms seven months after infection and those who had a mild illness at the start can have worse ongoing symptoms than patients who needed intensive care treatment.

Meanwhile, some people are living with a “rollercoaster of symptoms” that “move around the body”, in what has been dubbed ‘long COVID’.

Researchers from the National Institute for Health Research who reviewed the available evidence said long COVID could actually be four different syndromes.

They said that it cannot be assumed that people who are at lower risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19 are also at low risk of ongoing COVID.

Ongoing symptoms can include breathlessness, chronic fatigue, “brain fog”, anxiety and stress.

Meanwhile, others may have suffered permanent organ damage.

Health officials have estimated that 60,000 people could be suffering with long-term after effects of COVID-19.

Read more: Patients reveal what it is like to have long Covid in new study