Photo/Illutration Satoshi Kutsuna, professor at Osaka University’s Graduate School of Medicine, explains the survey findings about the after-effects of COVID-19 at a news conference in Toyonaka, Osaka Prefecture, on Dec. 14. (Kazuhide Setoguchi)

TOYONAKA, Osaka Prefecture--One in 20 people infected with the novel coronavirus experienced affect-effects even one month after they first developed symptoms, a city government survey here showed on Dec. 14.

“We found that although (symptoms) gradually improve, after-effects are still interfering with patients’ daily lives,” Toyonaka Mayor Shigeki Osanai said. “We’d like to continue asking residents to take thorough measures to prevent infections while providing an environment where they can get vaccinated and stay informed.”

In response to public concerns about “long COVID,” the Toyonaka city government sent a questionnaire in July to 27,000 residents who had been infected with the virus before the end of March.

Around 4,000 people responded through mail or an information-gathering app provided by a private company.

Of them, 47.7 percent said they continued to exhibit some symptoms after recuperating from the disease, Satoshi Kutsuna, professor at Osaka University’s Graduate School of Medicine, who cooperated in the survey, said at a news conference held at city hall.

Those who encountered virus-related problems in daily life even one month after the onset of the disease accounted for 1.61 percent of them.

Around 5 percent of all respondents said they continued feeling some after-effects one month after first developing symptoms, while 3.7 percent said they showed symptoms two months after the onset of the disease.

“We can’t take the figures lightly,” Kutsuna said.

The survey also asked respondents to list the symptoms they exhibited for more than 30 days, allowing multiple answers.

Hair loss was cited by 1.41 percent, followed by coughing, at 1.28 percent, fevers, at 0.95 percent, smelling difficulties, at 0.75 percent, and loss of taste, at 0.56 percent.

Based on when they first developed symptoms and COVID-19 trends in Japan, an estimated 77.3 percent of the respondents are believed to have been infected with the Omicron variant.

The survey also found people who developed severe symptoms were about 5.4 times more likely to experience lingering effects than those with mild symptoms. Vaccinated people were less likely to experience the after-effects.

“Vaccinations and preventive measures remain important, especially for those at high risk of developing severe symptoms,” Kutsuna said.

(This article was written by Kazuhide Setoguchi and Ayaka Kibi.)

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