With over 2 million cases in the US since the coronavirus pandemic began in late December, there are now many people who have recovered from COVID-19.

The most severely ill patients with COVID-19 often suffer from pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome, or ARDS, while ill.

Doctors have not followed patients who have recovered from the new coronavirus long enough to know if there will be long-term problems with breathing.

Only a quarter of patients had noted some improvement in a week's time, but by 10 days most patients had recovered.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for diagnosis of the chronic fatigue syndrome were met in a quarter of COVID-19 patients.

In one study, inflammation of the heart muscle, called myocarditis or cardiomyopathy, was observed in a third of severely ill COVID-19 patients.

Elevations in glucose are seen in severe cases of COVID-19 in some patients who do not have a prior history of diabetes.

Because the virus interacts with the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, or ACE2, on human cells, it is plausible that changes in ACE2 activity could be one cause of diabetes in patients with the new coronavirus.

However, it is important to appreciate that some long-term conditions can be anticipated, and prevented or managed to benefit patients.