City Program Will Help New Yorkers With 'Long COVID' Symptoms

NEW YORK, NY — A group of New Yorkers who came down with coronavirus and are still dealing with symptoms months later will get extra help from the city thanks to a new "Aftercare" program, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced.

The new initiative, led by the city's Test & Trace Corps, will offer support to those with what is known as "Long COVID," or about 10 percent of people who had coronavirus who struggle with physical and mental health symptoms weeks or months after they tested positive for the virus.

"Our central message today is we're going to be there for our fellow New Yorkers, as long as it takes," de Blasio said.

Those dealing with "Long COVID" can experience shortness of breath, lightheadedness, anxiety, depression and other symptoms that make getting back to their daily lives difficult, the Test & Trace Corps' Dr. Amanda Johnson said Wednesday.

Johnson said her own patients in Harlem have told her that accomplishing every-day tasks like showering or getting dressed can leave them exhausted and that they are worried about how they will go back to work dealing with the symptoms.

The Aftercare program, she said, will help with both the physical, mental and financial aspects of the long-term symptoms.

Test & Trace staff will start by reaching out to coronavirus patients by text who indicated that they were still dealing with symptoms.

They then will figure out their needs and offer help finding doctors, paid sick leave resources, virtual support groups, or the city's own post-COVID clinics.

"As we learn more about Long COVID…we are continuing to enhance and personalize the range of resources were able to offer individuals," she said.