*** We want the long-term COVID-19 sick to be heard and recognised. After all, we can no longer ignore the large and rapidly growing burden of proof:***

1. We are with many. According to various academic studies, more than 10% of non-hospitalised and more than 74% of hospitalised COVID-19 patients develop a long-term form of the disease. On 20 October 2020, Belgium exceeded the limit of 230,000 diagnosed infections and 23,000 hospitalisations. This means that more than 36,000 patients have experienced or are still suffering from this long-term form of COVID-19.

2. We had an active life. The majority of the long-term sick are people between 25 and 60 years of age. Most of us were in good health, sporting and active. Some have been felled by COVID-19 for several months now.

3. We have to prove our illness every time. At the beginning of the epidemic, there was not enough test material, so many of us have never been tested. In addition, the tests show a large number of false negatives and the blood samples do not always show that someone was going through COVID-19, because not everyone makes antibodies or the antibodies have already disappeared. As a result, a large number of patients are wrongly in doubt about their infection, even though the symptoms and course of the disease were obvious. However, one could also arrive at a clinical diagnosis of COVID-19 on the basis of the symptoms and the course of the disease.

The World Health Organisation calls on its members to recognise the existence of long-term COVID-19. In Belgium, the government has not yet taken that step. Other countries, including the United Kingdom, have already taken steps to support these people. Please let us not be left behind in Belgium.