An elderly man sits at the "Viktualienmarkt" daily food market, during the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Munich, Germany, March 18, 2020. (ANDREAS GEBERT / REUTERS)

STOCKHOLM / MOSCOW / LOS ANGELES – Individuals who are severely affected by COVID-19 may be at higher risk of post-infection symptoms, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said on Monday.

The COVID-19 cases caused by new variants are growing fast in the United States, according to data released Monday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

In its latest report, ECDC said that "post COVID-19 symptoms appear to be more prevalent among patients from hospital settings when compared to community settings."
According to the report, a wide range of physical and psychological symptoms have been reported by individuals at least 12 weeks following a SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Five post COVID-19 symptoms -- fatigue, shortness of breath, depression, headache and dizziness --  were found to be more prevalent among patients from hospital settings than those from community settings.
The report is based on studies conducted in the European Union (EU)/European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
ECDC recommends additional large-scale studies.

Russia

Russia registered 5,781 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, taking the nationwide tally to 21,429,506, the official monitoring and response center said Monday.

ALSO READ: COVID-19 ‘still an emergency’

The nationwide death toll increased by 71 to 390,175, while the number of recoveries increased by 7,073 to 20,803,197.

United States

The COVID-19 cases caused by new variants are growing fast in the United States, according to data released Monday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Two new variants, BQ.1 and BQ.1.1, have been growing especially fast. At the beginning of October, each one accounted for about 1 percent of new infections in the United States, but they have been roughly doubling in prevalence each week.

According to the latest CDC data, BQ.1 led to about 14 percent of new infections in the country in the week ending Oct 29, while BQ.1.1 caused 13.1 percent of new infections..

READ MORE: Canada confirms 21,810 new COVID-19 cases in one week

Together, the two variants accounted for more than one in four new COVID-19 infections nationwide, CDC data showed.

Meanwhile, the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Rochelle Walensky, experienced a COVID-19 rebound after completing a course of Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 pill, the agency said on Monday.

Walensky had experienced mild COVID-19 symptoms less than ten days ago. After completing a course of Pfizer's Paxlovid, and a period of isolation, she had tested negative for the virus, but on Sunday, she tested positive again, CDC added.

Walensky is the third government executive, after US President Joe Biden and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr Anthony Fauci, to experience a recurrent viral infection following the first course of Paxlovid.

Some people who took the antiviral drug have suffered from a relapse or a rebound that occurred days after the five-day treatment course had ended, studies have shown.