text: Burden of post COVID 19 syndrome and implications for healthcare service planning A population based cohort study Longer term consequences after SARS CoV 2 infection are becoming an important burden to societies and healthcare systems Data on post COVID 19 syndrome in the general population are required for the timely planning of healthcare services and resources The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of impaired health status and physical and mental health symptoms among individuals at least six months after SARS CoV 2 infection and to characterize their healthcare utilization This population based prospective cohort study Zurich SARS CoV 2 Cohort enrolled 431 adults from the general population with polymerase chain reaction confirmed SARS CoV 2 infection reported to health authorities between 27 February 2020 and 05 August 2020 in the Canton of Zurich Switzerland We evaluated the proportion of individuals reporting not to have fully recovered since SARS CoV 2 infection and the proportion reporting fatigue Fatigue Assessment Scale dyspnea mMRC dyspnea scale or depression DASS 21 at six to eight months after diagnosis Furthermore the proportion of individuals with at least one healthcare contact after their acute illness was evaluated Multivariable logistic regression models were used to assess factors associated with these main outcomes Symptoms were present in 385 89 participants at diagnosis and 81 19 were initially hospitalized At six to eight months 111 26 reported not having fully recovered 233 55 participants reported symptoms of fatigue 96 25 had at least grade 1 dyspnea and 111 26 had DASS 21 scores indicating symptoms of depression 170 40 participants reported at least one general practitioner visit related to COVID 19 after acute illness and 10 8 81 of initially hospitalized individuals were rehospitalized Individuals that have not fully recovered or suffer from fatigue dyspnea or depression were more likely to have further healthcare contacts However a third of individuals 37 111 that have not fully recovered did not seek further care In this population based study a relevant proportion of participants suffered from longer term consequences after SARS CoV 2 infection With millions infected across the world our findings emphasize the need for the timely planning of resources and patient centered services for post COVID 19 care 