Battling virus for months
Patient still in care after more than two months
A CORONAVIRUS patient is still being cared for at Barwon Health about 70 days after first being admitted to Geelong hospital.
The patient spent time in the intensive care unit and is still receiving inpatient care with Barwon Health, more than two months after being hospitalised.
Barwon Health director of infectious diseases Eugene Athan said the average time in hospital for Barwon Health’s COVID-19 inpatients had been seven days.
A CORONAVIRUS patient is still being cared for at Barwon Health about 70 days after first being admitted to Geelong hospital.
The patient spent time in the intensive care unit and is still receiving inpatient care with Barwon Health, more than two months after being hospitalised.
Barwon Health director of infectious diseases Eugene Athan said the average time in hospital for Barwon Health’s COVID-19 inpatients had been seven days.
Professor Athan said COVID-19 patients usually made a full recovery in two weeks, with few patients in the region experiencing longer COVID-19 symptoms.
“Fatigue is a persistent symptom for some cases, with research under way to learn more about who is experiencing long-term effects and why,” Prof Athan said.
“We recommend people maintain contact with their GP, who will be best placed to monitor any long-term impact.”
“The G21 region has an hospital admission rate of 4 per cent for COVID-19 cases.”
More than 360 people from Greater Geelong have tested positive for coronavirus since the pandemic began.
Local GP and Western Victoria PHN Clinical spokeswoman Anne Stephenson said there was emerging evidence of some people experiencing post-COVID-type reactions in the body, some of which had the potential to persist for considerable time.
“While most people who have had the infection make a full recovery, others can suffer from ongoing debilitating symptoms,” Dr Stephenson said.
“And we don’t yet fully understand what’s causing these symptoms and how to treat them effectively.
“As the understanding develops, we will know much more about how widespread it is and how long it can last for.”
Dr Stephenson said primary health practitioners were always concerned about chronic conditions and looking to find ways to improve people’s health and support them.
“People are understandably frustrated by our limited understanding of post-viral reactions to COVID-19,” she said.
“It must be incredibly hard for those suffering from the post-COVID reactions.
“It is essential that people still see their GP if they have symptoms.
“The potential for post-viral symptoms highlights that COVID is not like influenza, and we need to maintain a cautious approach to minimise the spread of this incredibly contagious virus.”