When Lindiwe Mhlongo, a South African mother of three, tested positive for COVID-19, she hoped for a speedy recovery. But a month after testing negative, she still wasn’t feeling well.
"When I tried to sleep … I couldn't breathe,” she said. “When I had to do chores at home, I couldn't do everything and even if I did, I would do small tasks and then head back to bed.”
Mhlongo is not alone. Research from South Africa shows that nearly half the individuals that were hospitalized with COVID-19 and about one in five of those that were not hospitalized have symptoms of long COVID six months after recovery.