Early on, patients with both mild and severe Covid-19 say they can’t breathe. Now, after recovering from the infection, some of them say they can’t think.

Even people who were never sick enough to go to a hospital, much less lie in an ICU bed with a ventilator, report feeling something as ill-defined as “Covid fog” or as frightening as numbed limbs. They’re unable to carry on with their lives, exhausted by crossing the street, fumbling for words, or laid low by depression, anxiety, or PTSD.

COVID-19 may lead to severe acute respiratory dis-tress syndrome requiring intensive care unit (ICU) sup-port. Patients surviving respiratory distress could develop post-intensive care syndrome (PICS) that includes ICU-acquired weakness (ICUAW). Nearly 66% ofCOVID-19 patients have clinically important muscle weakness following discharge [1]. Therefore, communication between the critical care and rehabilitation physician is important to evaluate the physical function ofCOVID-19 survivors to start rehabilitation timely.

Patients recovering from COVID-19 may face a second battle -- coping with the disease's mental health ramifications.
This is particularly true for the sickest of the sick who required time in the ICU and intubation. These patients may experience "post-intensive care syndrome" (PICS) that could manifest as a combination of physical, cognitive, and mental health impairments following an ICU stay for a critical illness.