Taskforce report warns of drawn out health effects for COVID suffers

A new report from the military-run coronavirus task force warns that many COVID-19 sufferers continue to experience symptoms of the disease for months, including those who already seemingly recovered from mild bouts with the virus.

“Symptoms can continue for several months after the disease passes, with no connection to the underlying medical condition or age of the patient. According to various estimates, up to a third of those who recover suffer from persistent symptoms.

The report recommends that policy-makers take this fact into account as it could mean that Israel will still face serious medical challenges even after the country is able to get infection rates under control.

“Beyond consequences that these complications and damage have for those who have recovered, given the wide scale of infection in Israel, these persisting complications may have significant consequences for public health, and even weigh heavily on the economy (even if the prevalence is low).”

According to Health Ministry figures, nearly 275,000 people have been diagnosed with the virus in Israel thus far, or approximately 3 percent of the population. Many more are thought to have contracted it without knowing.