CANBERRA, April 19 (Xinhua) -- A specialty clinic has been established in Australia's capital to help people suffering serious and lingering COVID-19 symptoms.
The Post COVID Recovery Clinic at the University of Canberra Hospital has been opened to treat patients with coronavirus symptoms that are still affecting their daily lives more than 12 weeks after contracting the virus.
Patients at the clinic receive care from rehabilitation specialists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, exercise physiologists and social workers.
It is funded under the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) government's COVID-19 health response, which received a 105 million Australian dollar (about 77 million USD) boost in March.
Rachel Stephen-Smith, the ACT's Health Minister, said the clinic would help patients make a recovery from COVID-19.
"For many long COVID patients, the debilitating symptoms of the virus are compromising their quality of life," she said in a statement on Tuesday.
"The Post COVID Recovery Clinic is leading the nation in providing support to those affected by long COVID and helping them return to their day-to-day activities."
According to the latest Department of Health data, there had been approximately 5.23 million confirmed cases and 6,786 deaths in Australia as of Monday afternoon.
There were about 3,150 coronavirus cases being treated in Australian hospitals including 131 in intensive care units.
On Tuesday morning, Australia reported more than 30,000 new COVID-19 cases and more than 10 deaths, including eight in New South Wales, the country's most populous state. ■