Centre for Research on Disability and Social Integration

In collaboration with:

The Life Impact of COVID-19 Infection

In March of 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic. By June of 2023, there were more than 767 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection worldwide, and over 6.9 million deaths. There have been over 4.68 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection in Canada.

The average number of new COVID-19 infections has been decreasing or staying stable lately in Canada. The weekly case count of COVID-19, last updated on June 6, was 2,869. With the spread of COVID-19 variants, there is continued concern that the rate of infection could rise once again.

As the global COVID-19 pandemic has progressed, evidence has emerged that some patients are experiencing prolonged multiorgan symptoms and complications beyond the initial period of acute infection and illness. Research suggests that residual symptoms persist in approximately 10%-20% of infected individuals. The terms “Post-COVID-19 Syndrome” and “Long COVID” have been used to refer to individuals who continue to experience distressing and debilitating symptoms 12 weeks post-infection.