Long Covid keeping lives on hold five years after pandemic

VIENNA - Three years ago, Ms Andrea Vanek was studying to be an arts and crafts teacher when spells of dizziness and heart palpitations suddenly started to make it impossible for her to even take short walks.

- AFP

After seeing a succession of doctors, she was diagnosed with long Covid and even now spends most of her days in the small living room of her third-floor Vienna apartment, sitting on the windowsill to observe the world outside.

"I can't plan anything because I just don't know how long this illness will last," the 33-year-old Austrian told AFP.

The first cases of Covid-19 were detected in China in December 2019, sparking a global pandemic and more than seven million reported deaths to date, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

But millions more have been affected by long Covid, in which some people struggle to recover from the acute phase of the coronavirus, suffering symptoms including tiredness, brain fog and shortness of breath.

Ms Vanek tries to be careful not to exert herself to avoid another "crash", which for her is marked by debilitating muscle weakness and can last for months, making it hard to even open a bottle of water.

"We know that long Covid is a big problem," said Ms Anita Jain, from the WHO's Health Emergencies Programme.