A research study into the long-term health impacts of COVID-19 on hospitalised patients has been launched in the UK. Backed by £8.4m in funding, around 10,000 patients are expected to take part.

Led by the NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, a partnership between the University of Leicester and the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, the post-hospitalisation COVID-19 study will draw on expertise from a group of researchers and doctors from across the UK.

They will also look at possible ways to help improve the mental health of patients hospitalised with coronavirus, and how individual characteristics influence recovery, such as gender or ethnicity.

Chief medical officer and head of NIHR, professor Chris Whitty said: "As well as the immediate health impacts of the virus it is also important to look at the longer-term impacts on health, which may be significant.

"We have rightly focused on mortality, and what the UK can do straight away to protect lives but we should also look at how COVID-19 impacts on the health of people after they have recovered from the immediate disease.

"This UKRI and NIHR funded study is one of the first steps in doing this."


UK numbers (Source UK Government)

As at 16:00 today:

Total number of lab-confirmed UK cases: 309,005 cases of the virus in the UK (down slightly to 871 in the last 24 hours).

Total number of COVID-19 associated UK deaths: 46,511 (rising to 98 in the last 24 hours).

World numbers (Source: World Health Organisation)

Globally, as of 10:23am CEST, 7th August, there have been 18,854,287 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 708,639 deaths, reported to WHO.

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