HOW TO LIVE WITH COVID-19

We may be in the post-pandemic phase, but coping with the symptoms of ever-evolving coronavirus is still a reality for many

- AMY JONES

Five years ago, on March 11 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Covid-19 a global pandemic, prompting a national lockdown just 12 days later. During this unprecedented time, the prime minister ordered us to “stay at home” and lockdown measures were legally put in place. There was a ban on most social gatherings and household mixing, and we could only leave home with a “reasonable excuse”. Thousands of businesses and venues temporarily shut down.

While it’s been five years, the impact of the virus on our mental and physical health has been detrimental, with many still feeling the effects today.

Professor Mark Faghy, who leads Clinical Exercise Science at the University of Derby, tells us, “While we are in the post-pandemic phase now, the impact is still being realised. There are tens if not hundreds of millions of people globally who are still experiencing challenges from Covid-19, known as long Covid.

“This is an episodic and debilitating condition that can impact everyone and in many different ways. You do not need to have a serious acute infection, but issues can present in the weeks or months following the virus, and it appears that the more infections you have, [there is an] increased risk of developing longer-term issues.”

The virus “continues to adapt and change through a process called viral mutation” so there are many variants. However, Prof Faghy says, “According to data, there are currently no variants of concern, but there are strains of Omicron that are of interest and under monitoring.”