“I think he actually got it while he was climbing on a climbing trip. And it was bad, but it wasn’t awful.”

James first caught Covid-19 in April 2022 and as his partner Emma explains to Helen Pidd, it was not until months later that the severity of his infection became apparent. He became unable to get up and walk and was hypersensitive to noise and light.

“We’ve got black plastic sheeting over all of the windows and doors to stop any light coming in,” Emma says.

James now lives in darkness and in pain with Emma and his parents providing critical care support. They are hoping that an expensive form of treatment will help him recover.

Five years on from the first Covid-19 lockdown, James is one of 2 million people in the UK today believed to be suffering from long Covid. There are more than 200 symptoms associated with the condition and yet its cause remains unknown, with no approved treatments.

But people can get better, as Georgina tells Helen Pidd. She caught Covid-19 in October 2022 and the debilitating symptoms that developed put her ability to maintain her job, her home and her relationships under great strain. She explains that she was lucky to be able to receive treatment from the Long Covid clinic in London and that she can now live a life that resembles the one she had before the pandemic. The difficult experience has made her better appreciate the struggles faced by people with disabilities. “I can just live a normal life and just live spontaneously again, which is something that you take for granted when you’re healthy.”