Hong Kong’s first major study into the effects of long Covid will be carried out by one of the city’s leading universities in a bid to provide information to the government on future treatment plans.

The research team from Chinese University’s faculty of medicine said on Tuesday it would send a bilingual online survey to all recovered Covid-19 patients in Hong Kong, including the elderly and children, to learn about how long Covid symptoms affected them.

Professor Siew Chien Ng explains the research programme.

“There’s likely a very large number of people who have a disability from long Covid given the reality that at least 1 million people in Hong Kong have contracted the virus during the fifth wave in Hong Kong,” Professor Ng Siew Chien said. “Long Covid can impair a person’s ability to work, which could have economic consequences for their families.”

The announcement came after a faculty study showed 70 per cent of patients had long Covid – the presence of at least one persistent symptom for four weeks or more after recovery.

Professor Francis Chan from Chinese University.

An earlier survey by the same team found 76 per cent of patients had suffered from long Covid.

Symptoms include fatigue, poor memory, sleep problems, reduced ability to exercise, chest pain, shortness of breath, joint pain, anxiety, brain fog and hair loss.

The survey aimed to collect replies from at least 10,000 people in three months.

About 1.27 million Hongkongers have been infected with Covid-19, while 9,420 residents have died from complications related to the virus.

A total of 1,000 people will also be allowed to take part in a later survey of gut microorganisms – microbiomes – by the university on a first-come, first-served basis as part of the research into long Covid.

The study was designed to learn more about the effects of gut microorganism disturbance on long-term recovery and the potential for microbiome modulation to help lessen symptoms.

“Long Covid is not only a health concern, but also affects the well-being of our society in the long run,” Professor Francis Chan Ka-leung, the dean of the medical faculty and the director of the Centre for Gut Microbiota Research said. “Therefore it is important for the government to develop better treatment plans and support systems.”