Long Covid to surge in Geelong, experts warn

Geelong long Covid victims have shared the horrific effects of the condition, as doctors warn cases will rise.

Courtney Baty, 30, was infected with Covid in January but is still battling symptoms. Picture: Alison Wynd

Almost a year after contracting Covid, Courtney Baty is still unable to run on the treadmill.

If she does, she’s left wiped out for days.

The Waurn Ponds 30-year-old caught coronavirus in January, while double vaccinated, but is still struggling with some long Covid symptoms.

She’s been “much better” in recent months and was able to return to work full-time around late August.

But she still grapples with occasional breathlessness and sometimes loses her voice.

“I get tired more easily than I ever did before I got Covid,” she said.

Ms Baty, who has had three vaccine doses now, said she was a “little bit concerned” about being reinfected with Covid.

“But it is what it is,” she said.

With coronavirus cases rising, the region’s public health boss has warned his team expects the number of people affected by long Covid will increase too.

Professor Eugene Athan.

A person is usually considered to have long Covid if symptoms have continued for more than 12 weeks after their infection.

Symptoms can include fatigue, breathlessness, problems with memory and concentration, sleeping issues, changes to taste and smell and a hoarse voice.

Barwon South West public health unit director Eugene Athan said vaccination reduced risk of long Covid.

“If you are due for your third or fourth dose, now is the time to ensure you and your loved ones are up to date,” Professor Athan said.

“Long Covid can last for many weeks and months, even after a person no longer has the virus.”

Geelong woman Ange, who did not want her surname published, caught Covid in early April.

The virus was “mainly flu like, but with an extra element of exhaustion”.

Now, months after contracting the virus, she still lives with intense fatigue due to long Covid.

The 42-year-old “basically can’t walk 50 metres without puffing” and is left out-of-breath by making the bed.

“It’s pretty much stayed the same since having Covid,” she said.

“Pre-Covid I was obviously able to do those things without getting puffed out but since then everything just takes more effort.”

Ange, who was vaccinated against the virus, said if she went out to enjoy a footy match, she’d spend the next day bed-ridden due to exhaustion.

She said long Covid had also exacerbated pre-existing depression.

“I’m hoping it gets better — I don’t know if this is just me now,” she said.

A federal parliamentary inquiry into long Covid and repeated infections was established in September.

In a submission to the inquiry Victoria’s health department said it was estimated, based on international sources, that about 5 per cent of people with coronavirus would experience long Covid.

The submission said there was emerging evidence that repeated infection increased the risk of developing long Covid.

It recommended a national long Covid plan be developed, led by the Commonwealth, which included:

A standardised national definition of long Covid, that includes post-Covid conditions which may affect multiple organ systems;

ADDITIONAL funding of demand growth in public health services to ensure adequate care for long Covid without negatively impacting other hospitalisation care needs;

A community awareness and engagement campaign and resources to support the community to identify symptoms and where to seek care; and,

GREATER investment in research, including studies on long Covid systemic health impacts.

Originally published as Long Covid to surge in Geelong, experts warn