Persons Recovered From COVID-19 Warned of Disease's Long-Term Effects

Thailand's Department of Disease Control (DDC) under the Ministry of Public Health has urged those who have recovered from COVID-19 to remain vigilant, as they can experience long-term effects of the disease after recovery even if their case was not severe, according to the Thai government's Public Relations Department (PRD) on April 20.

These long-term effects, also called post COVID-19 condition or "long COVID," can be worrisome for those who have recovered from the disease, as they can develop symptoms like exhaustion, shortness of breath, and dementia conditions like lack of concentration, less control of emotions and behavior, and trouble sleeping.

The PRD also listed other symptoms of long COVID, such as palpitation, blood clots in a cerebral artery or other organs, earache or tinnitus, stomachache, diarrhea, muscle pain and numbness, hair loss, loss of smell and taste, and irregular menstruation.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that anyone who becomes ill from COVID-19 can develop long COVID. While the condition is still being studied by experts, current research has shown that around 10% to 20% of COVID-19 patients develop symptoms that may be classified as long COVID.

There also seems to be no link between the initial severity of one's COVID-19 infection and their possibility of developing long COVID.

The DDC, on April 20, reported 20,455 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and 128 new deaths in Thailand. Of this figure, 20,208 cases are local transmission, 135 cases are from prison, 94 from passengers traveling from abroad, and 18 under active case finding.