Wales’ hidden war: the Long Covid crisis demands a national response

It has been nearly eighty years since Wales last faced devastation on the scale of war. Yet, as the Senedd Petitions Committee met this February to discuss the crisis of Long Covid, the comparisons were unavoidable. Not since the Second World War has the nation endured such a far-reaching disruption—across health, education, and the economy—that it demands nothing less than a national response.

The petition, Establish a ‘Care Society’ to Tackle the Long COVID Crisis in Wales, launched in May 2024, calls for an approach that goes beyond healthcare. It demands an economic and social response—a “Care Society”—to address the structural devastation Long Covid is causing across Wales. As of now, there is no national strategy. The petitioners argue that this is not just a failing, but an unfolding catastrophe.

Long Covid: A War of Attrition

Long Covid is an invisible war, one that does not make itself known through bomb damage or evacuation orders, but in the thousands of people unable to work, the NHS under unrelenting pressure, and the sharp rise in school absences.

Petitioner Charles Waltz underscored the sheer scale of the crisis in his address to the committee:

Long Covid is disabling our workforce, overwhelming our healthcare system, disrupting education, and killing 12 times more people in Wales than the Blitz. If this were caused by war, there would be no hesitation in mobilising a national response.

The numbers are staggering:

• Wales has lost 12,000 people to Covid-19—nearly as many as the country’s total military and civilian casualties in the Second World War.
• School absenteeism has more than doubled since the pandemic began, leaving thousands of children struggling with long-term illness.
• One-third of NHS workers report Long Covid symptoms, pushing an already struggling health service closer to collapse.
• The Health Foundation reports that 300,000 people per year are leaving the workforce due to long-term illness—matching the number of Welsh men conscripted in the Second World War.

Despite these losses, there is no cross-governmental strategy to address Long Covid’s impact on health, employment, education, and economic participation. Yanto Davies, a trustee of Long Covid Support and Long Covid Wales, emphasised the urgency:

Five years on since the start of the pandemic, many believe that Covid-19 no longer represents a threat to our way of life. The truth is that it is anything but. NHS services are stretched to the limit. Critical incidents declared up and down the country. Staff shortages. High levels of school absenteeism. Just because we no longer test for Covid does not erase its devastating impact

We call on policymakers to develop a national strategy—one that includes monitoring cases, public health messaging, preventative measures, and urgent research into Long Covid. Without action, we are sleepwalking into social and economic decline.

A ‘Care Society’ as a National Vision

The petition outlines a bold alternative: a “Care Society” that prioritises economic security, workplace rights, and public health infrastructure. It calls for:

• A Universal Basic Income (UBI) for the Chronically Ill: Inspired by Wales’ UBI pilot for care leavers, petitioners propose extending this to Long Covid sufferers, ensuring financial security without the obstacles of means-testing or punitive work assessments.
• Workplace Adjustments and Economic Participation: Legal protections, remote work expansion, and flexible employment policies to keep affected individuals in the workforce.
• Green Infrastructure and Upskilling: Recognising that many will never return to their previous careers, the petition proposes retraining initiatives in sustainable industries, creating a more adaptable workforce.
• A Public Clean Air Strategy: Investment in HEPA filtration for schools, hospitals, and public buildings, ensuring safer indoor spaces for all

For Sian Griffiths, a former physiotherapist forced into ill-health retirement due to Long Covid, these policies are not abstract proposals—they are the difference between being trapped in illness and having the chance to rebuild a life:

I caught Covid in May 2020 while working as a physio. By 2023, I had to take ill-health retirement. I’ve lost my purpose, my identity, and a career I trained hard for. Now I’m reliant on medication and support from my family just to manage daily life. We need more flexibility and support—not just to survive, but to contribute.

Steps toward a Coordinated Long Covid Strategy

The Petitions Committee, chaired by Carolyn Thomas MS, acknowledged the scale of the issue and the limits of its own remit. The discussion made it clear: a piecemeal approach will not work—Wales needs a cross-portfolio strategy to tackle Long Covid across government departments

Luke Fletcher MS made the case for direct intervention:

This is something that’s needed to be addressed for years now. We know that the number of people out of work is significantly higher than before the pandemic. This requires a coordinated government response—not just from the Health Secretary, but across different portfolios.

There’s a need to write not just to the Cabinet Secretary for Health—there should be a letter to the First Minister outlining the government’s overall strategy for tackling Long Covid. Right now, there simply isn’t one.

The committee has now agreed to write to the First Minister to demand a coordinated strategy. They will also contact relevant Senedd committees to assess their ongoing work, and share findings with the Wales Covid-19 Inquiry Special Purpose Committee.

Aneurin Bevan and Wales’s Test of Political Imagination with long Covid

The story of Wales has always been one of resilience—but also of bold action in the face of crisis. In the aftermath of war, inspired by the public health mutual aid developed in Wales, Aneurin Bevan helped lay  the foundations of the NHS.

Today, Wales faces another test of political imagination. Petitioner Charles Waltz invoked Bevan’s legacy directly

Bevan built the NHS under greater constraints than we face now. Wales has an opportunity to lead once again—not just in rehabilitation services, but in redefining what a care-based society looks like in the 21st century.

For now, the petition remains open, awaiting a response from the Welsh Government. But outside the walls of the Senedd, the crisis continues—an invisible war of attrition that, if left unaddressed, could reshape Wales for generations to come.

The question now is whether Wales will respond with the urgency it did in wartime—or whether, in the silence that follows committee meetings, the crisis will continue to deepen, unchallenged.

Featured image via the Canary