Researchers from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University have warned that 42 per cent of Covid-19 patients in Hong Kong may suffer from the “long Covid” syndrome even after they are cleared of the novel coronavirus, adding that aerobic and lower limb exercises can help ease the condition.
The researchers tracked the health and physical performance of around 120 Covid-19 patients infected since October 2020, and found that long Covid appeared in patients across all age groups.
“The symptoms range quite a bit, including what some people call brain fog or tiredness or fatigue, as well as sometimes both physical fatigue and mental fatigue that means the person may not be as sharp as usual,” said Associate Professor Arnold Wong Yu-lok.
In announcing their findings, the researchers said some of the participants only began to display long Covid symptoms six months after they were cleared of the novel coronavirus.
They also found that long Covid was more common among females, with 50 per cent of women taking part in the study showing symptoms, compared with 30 per cent among men.
But aerobic and lower limb exercises can help, the researchers said, pointing out that a six-week programme they devised had helped participants regain physical strength and lung functions.
“The aerobic capacity or the forced vital capacity is highly related to muscle fatigue as well as the performance of individuals,” said Wong.
“Our finding supports that those people have lower limb weakness, but also if a person has a better lower limb capacity or endurance, they improve their daily activity performance.”
The researchers added that it was still unclear how long it takes for people to get rid of long Covid, but good exercise habits were key to physical and mental health during the pandemic.
As of yesterday, Hong Kong’s Covid-19 tally stood at 1.07 million including 6,364 deaths, out of a population of about 7.5 million.
Macao’s Covid-19 tally stands at 82, not including 62 asymptomatic cases. No Covid-19 deaths have been reported in Macao, which has a population of about 680,000, The Macau Post Daily reported.
