The Department of Health has published information to help people understand if a past COVID-19 infection has turned into long-COVID.
In a statement, the Department said being infected with COVID-19 could cause some people to experience health problems that wouldn’t go away: “this is called long-COVID”.
“Sometimes COVID-19 causes a person to feel unwell for many months after the initial illness,” the Department said.
“Long-COVID can make people to feel unwell for many weeks, or months, and even after they no longer have COVID-19,” it said.
“Even people who had a mild COVID-19 infection and did not need to go to hospital can still have long-COVID.”
The Department said some symptoms of the condition included extreme tiredness, coughing, breathlessness, problems with memory and difficulty thinking clearly.
“Many long-term side effects from COVID-19 are still not known,” it said.
“This is why it is important that you do everything you can to protect yourself against being infected with the COVID-19 virus.”
It said COVID-19 vaccines could help reduce the chance of experiencing long-COVID.
“If you tested positive for COVID-19 more than a few weeks ago, and you’re still feeling unwell, have a yarn with your healthcare worker.”
The Department said people who were worried about their symptoms could call the National Coronavirus Helpline on 1800 020 080, 24 hours a day.
