Gloria Gardener spent a week and a half sleeping on her couch after she fell ill with COVID-19 in January.
The 57-year-old now lives with "long-COVID", a condition defined by symptoms such as ongoing exhaustion, fatigue, headaches and loss of smell months after an initial infection.
"I used to do a lot of mountain bike riding, running and walking," Ms Gardiner said.
The ACT government has set up a new clinic to treat people like Ms Gardener, who have lingering COVID-19 symptoms.
The post-COVID recovery clinic is based in the University of Canberra Hospital at Bruce, and will treat people over the age of 16 who have COVID-19 symptoms more than 12 weeks after they first catch the virus.
Phil Gaughwin, a doctor in rehabilitation medicine, said the ACT was preparing for an increase in the number of people presenting with long-COVID symptoms.
"You had that initial peak in sort of December, January," he said.
And while it is unclear how many Canberrans suffer from long-COVID, health authorities are preparing to provide support to anyone who needs it.
"The extent of that, time will tell," Dr Gaughwin said.
"But the idea is to provide the service so that it's ready and waiting to accept and look after them, should we have patients with really severe illness come through."
Dr Gaughwin also noted that Canberra's high vaccination rate might have helped reduce the incidence of long-COVID.
"We do have evidence that having been immunised against COVID-19 can sort of ameliorate some of those … features of long-COVID."
Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said the clinic, which saw its first patients on Tuesday, would provide holistic care.
"For people who are experiencing long-COVID, this can have really significant flow-on effects to their lives," Ms Stephen-Smith said.
The clinic's staff includes physiotherapists, occupational therapists and social workers.
