About 5% of NSW patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in the first wave of the pandemic were still experiencing symptoms three months later, a population-based study shows.

The data on so-called ‘long COVID’ found a lower rate of persistent symptoms than previous studies that have put the figure at up to 30%.

The researchers, from UNSW Sydney and NSW Health, tracked the recovery of 2904 patients or almost 95% of all COVID-19 cases diagnosed in the state between April and July 2020.

“What’s unique about this study is that we tried to follow everyone who was diagnosed,” lead author Associate Professor Betty Liu told the ABC.