Tamworth: Northwest Health GP Ian Kamerman and Barton Lane Practice GP Daniel Rankmore call for long COVID precautions

'Long COVID', or prolonged symptoms, is linked to the frequency of catching the illness, Northwest Health GP Ian Kamerman told the Leader.

The severity of the illness when caught can also result in a case of long COVID, he said.

Periods of lethargy, respiratory symptoms, and breathlessness can be suffered as a result of long COVID.

"It's really hard for people that do have this because there's no treatment for it that makes a significant difference other than rest," he said, and identifying long COVID can be challenging.

"The thing is, you've got to make sure that nothing else is going on, so it's really what you would call a diagnosis of exclusion," he said.

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Sporadic cases of COVID now frequenting Tamworth are expected to increase in winter as people spend more time indoors, Dr Kamerman said.

Taking precautions against the illness is therefore encouraged, he said.

"We really want people to be updating their vaccinations, making sure that if they haven't been vaccinated or had COVID in the last six months, they certainly need a booster dose," he said.

"And along with that, people need to be ensuring that they've had their flu vaccine this year."

The community must avoid becoming complacent, Barton Lane Practice GP Daniel Rankmore said.

"We're in that post-COVID era where we're back to work and back to school, and life's largely normal, but we still need to be careful not to spread it around," he said.

"Because some people are really hit quite hard with it."

All respiratory viruses are more prevalent at the moment, Dr Rankmore said.

COVID cases rose by 15 per cent, flu cases by 95 per cent and RSV cases by 13 per cent in the week to May 20 compared to the previous week, NSW Health data released Thursday, May 25 found.

The Hunter New England Health district recorded 2031 COVID cases, 185 flu cases and 187 RSV cases.

While University of NSW professor James Wood said COVID may peak in another couple of weeks, flu cases are expected to rise sharply into June.

People should be vigilant about staying home when sick, getting tested if symptoms appear, and hand washing and wearing masks in high risk environments should continue, Dr Rankmore said.

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