Nearly a million people in the UK say long Covid is negatively affecting their daily lives as levels of the condition climb to a record high, new figures suggest. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates 1.52 million people were likely to be experiencing symptoms of long Covid in the four weeks to January 31, up 15 per cent from 1.33 million a month earlier.
This includes 685,000 people who first had Covid-19, or suspected they had the virus, at least one year ago. Long Covid symptoms are estimated to be adversely affecting the day-to-day activities of 989,000 people – around two-thirds of those with self-reported long Covid – with 281,000 (18 per cent) reporting that their ability to undertake day-to-day activities has been “limited a lot”, the ONS said.
Fatigue continues to be the most common symptom (experienced by 51 per cent of those with self-reported long Covid), followed by shortness of breath (35 per cent), loss of smell (34 per cent) and then loss of taste and difficulty concentrating (both at 25 per cent). Of the 1.52 million, 1.1 million (71 per cent) first had coronavirus – or suspected they had it – at least 12 weeks previously, while 685,000 (45 per cent) first had Covid at least a year earlier.
