UK Long Covid cases hit record high of 2 million

The number of people suspected to be living with Long Covid has risen to a record high of two million, new figures show.

Estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggest that, as of 1 May, around 3.1% of the population were suffering from persistent symptoms after becoming infected with coronavirus.

This includes 826,000 who have had Long Covid for at least one year – up from 791,000 in April. Some 376,000 people have meanwhile lived with the condition for at least two years, the figures show.

The prevalence of Long Covid in the UK has jumped sharply since the end of the Omicron wave, which infected millions of people over winter. Since the beginning of the year, 700,000 people have developed the condition – more than one-third of the overall total.

Lingering symptoms adversely affected the day-to-day activities of 1.4 million people, the ONS said, with 398,000 reporting that their ability undertake day-to-day activities had been “limited a lot”.

Long Covid was found to be most prevalent in people aged 35 to 69 years, women, people living in more deprived areas, those working in healthcare, social care, or teaching and education, and those with another activity-limiting health condition or disability, the ONS said.

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Source: The Independent, 1 June 2022