A MAN suffering from the effects of Covid long after catching the virus is warning others that it "may change your life forever".

City of York Council has launched a campaign to share the experiences of Covid patients and the people looking after them.

Jon shared his story as part of the initiative - saying the long term effects of the virus mean he now faces a choice between taking pills for the rest of his life or having surgery.

He said: “To anyone thinking of breaking the rules innocently thinking that it can never happen to you, I would say don’t do it, it may mean that your life will change forever.

"Having been a pretty fit and healthy person, I managed to get away with a mild dose of the virus, back in March, but despite an initial recovery, a number of symptoms lingered for months afterwards.

"Debilitating fatigue, heart palpitations and memory loss (brain fog), have all meant that my day to day life has been changed. It has been extremely difficult to get any form of diagnosis, despite the best efforts of my doctor during a period of learning about the after-effects of the virus."

"I now have a definition of long Covid, but that is different things to different people. My heart palpitations have persisted and I am now facing either taking tablets for the rest of my life or having a surgical procedure to rectify the problem, not something I am particularly looking forward to.”