Thread by @BW

[THREAD] The damage caused by coronavirus can be brutal. And the burden of care will weigh on countries for years to come.

We talked with six Covid long haulers about what it’s been like to live with the mystifying condition trib.al/CzB3cQS

Jenny, 45 (Oxford, England): “If I was teaching now, I’d be on my feet and using my lungs all day. My main symptom now is this pain in my chest, and it’s really tiring. I just don’t know what it is, and no one else does, either.” trib.al/CzB3cQS

Mario Escobar, 53 (Bogotá): “When I got back on my bike, it was much harder to ride uphill. A few days after that, symptoms started to reappear. I began sneezing and had a more frequent and stronger cough.” trib.al/CzB3cQS

Hannah Wei, 30 (Ottawa): “That’s when the neurological symptoms really bite back. It’s just like a different set of symptoms—rashes, whatever—all the weird stuff came out.” trib.al/CzB3cQS

Stefania Giardoni, 50 (Rome): “From the time I left the hospital until a few weeks ago, my hair was falling out in clumps. I still have chest pains and hypertension.” trib.al/CzB3cQS

Rahul Sahajpal, 33 (New Delhi): “If I’m having a walk or I’m kind of doing any typical activity, I experience a sore throat and a stuffy nose—like a cold.” trib.al/CzB3cQS

Jake Elsas, 53 (Atlanta): “My brain has a much harder time processing information. And when I do too much, it gets worse. Have you ever had so much to drink that when you lie down in bed at night, the room is spinning?” trib.al/CzB3cQS

Read more on Covid long haulers here: trib.al/CzB3cQS