Long Covid, or post-Covid-19 syndrome, is a prolonged persistence of symptoms associated with a coronavirus (Covid-19) infection which extends beyond the typical recovery period of around two weeks. Symptoms are wide ranging, but commonly include fatigue, breathlessness, chest pain and problems with memory and concentration or “brain fog”. ONS data in September 2021 suggested that, of UK people with self-reported long Covid, 817,000 (84%) first had (or suspected they had) Covid-19 at least 12 weeks previously and, for 384,000 (40%), at least one year previously. These pages provide news and guidance on the impact of long Covid as individuals, the medical profession and employers start to understand it.
The extreme fatigue and 'brain fog' that people with long Covid can experience may be down to the virus causing changes in the brain structure.