According to a report provided by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), one in ten coronavirus survivors suffer lasting symptoms even three months after beating the illness.
The data revealed that 9.9 percent of British citizens who survived the coronavirus still suffered from lasting effects of the disease even after 12 weeks. Another 21 percent reported persistent symptoms after five weeks of clearing the initial infection, with the most common being fatigue, headaches, and persistent cough.
Their data also revealed that chances of heart attacks and strokes were 12 times higher among people hospitalised with Covid, compared to non-virus patients. Most of the patients affected by the virus recover within 15 days, however, they suffer from a fever, cough, and lose their sense of smell or taste for many days. But the data suggests that the virus can persist for weeks among those recovered patients whom the researchers call ‘long haulers’ (long Covid).
Experts now believe these symptoms are after-effects on the coronavirus, due to the damage caused to the organs, immune system, etc.
Researchers and scientists say they have noticed two main types of long Covid, one those who showed visible damage to their organs which include scarring on their lungs, hearts muscles, or even neurological damage. However, these patients were a minority group who had suffered a very serious bout of the virus.
Other long-standing symptoms that have been reported by Covid-19 survivors, including suspected and confirmed, are hearing problems, memory loss, brain fog, lack of concentration, mental health issues, and hair loss.