MINISTER of Health Dr Frank Anthony has said that the government intends developing several specialised units across the country that will allow for the treatment of patients who continue to experience some symptoms of COVID-19 even after they have recovered from the infection.

During his daily COVID-19 update on Friday, the Health Minister related that a special unit has already been set up at the Georgetown Public Hospital to manage the care of patients battling ‘long COVID.’

People experience this ‘long COVID’ when their COVID-19 symptoms last more than four weeks. It may also refer to those long-term health issues people experience months after recovering from the coronavirus infection, even if they did not display initial symptoms.

Dr Anthony has assured members of the public that several local doctors have been monitoring people who recover from COVID-19, including those who have developed the long COVID symptoms.

He, however, noted that many of the patients experiencing long COVID are treated at the Georgetown Public Hospital, Guyana’s main referral hospital. With hundreds of people infected in all regions of Guyana, though, he said that the government is interested in “replicating” such units throughout the country.

“… and if those doctors believe they can’t manage those patients there, they will refer them to the Georgetown Hospital,” the Health Minister said.

The establishment of these units across the country is expected to boost the local management of COVID-19.

Though long COVID is a phenomenon that is still being investigated globally, some symptoms of this include extreme tiredness, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, chest pain, problems with memory and concentration (known as brain fog), changes to taste and smell, and joint pains.

With the more recent emergence of the new Omicron coronavirus variant, however, Dr Anthony said that the scientific community is yet to determine how this variant will affect people in the longer term.

What is known already is that people infected with the Omicron variant experience less severe symptoms and are usually hospitalised for shorter periods.

While studies on COVID-19 continue, Dr Anthony emphasised that people should get vaccinated — that is, taking the full dosage and a booster shot — to protect themselves from experiencing the more severe or life-threatening symptoms of COVID-19.