CASES of Covid are rising once more in the UK, with many people being struck down with the bug.
If you’ve had the virus before, then you might think you’d know exactly what to look out for.
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But as strains have evolved and changed over the last two years, so have the symptoms.
New data from the ZOE Symptom Tracker app has revealed the first warning sign you might have the illness.
Of those testing positive right now, 63.55 per cent are coming down with a sore throat, figures show.
It’s estimated that there are around 235,829 new daily symptomatic cases of Covid in the UK.
This is up almost 34 per cent from 176,090 daily cases two weeks ago, figures from ZOE shows.
As testing is no longer free, it can be difficult to know whether or not you have the bug.
So if you have a sore throat, there’s a big chance it’s Covid – but it could also just be a sore throat which is usually caused by viruses like the cold or flu, or because of smoking.
Very occasionally, the NHS said that sore throats can also be caused by laryngitis, tonsillitis, strep throat or glandular fever.
With cases of Covid increasing though, it’s key to know the top warning signs currently plaguing Brits.
The top 20 symptoms people are experiencing are:
- Sore throat – 63.55%
- Runny nose – 53.04%
- Headache – 53.02%
- Blocked nose – 52.47%
- Cough no phlegm – 52.06%
- Sneezing – 47.02%
- Cough with phlegm – 45.79%
- Hoarse voice – 43.86%
- Muscle pain aches – 29.46%
- Fatigue – 22.97%
- Dizzy light headed – 21.11%
- Altered smell – 19.82%
- Swollen neck glands – 17.72%
- Eye soreness – 16.41%
- Chest pain tightness – 16.26%
- Shortness of breath – 15.9%
- Loss of smell – 14.45%
- Earache – 13.96%
- Chills or shivers – 12.98%
- Joint pain shoulders – 11.08%
Professor Tim Spector, the lead on the ZOE study said despite an increase in cases, the bug is actually slowing.
Posting to Twitter, he also added that the wave of colds is also declining.
He added: “I was upset when I woke up yesterday with a stuffy nose + sore throat- luckily I was sneezing which is a good predictor of a cold at present and not Covid (now antigen test neg!)”.
Since the Omicron wave took hold in the UK last year, the majority of people who get the bug are experiencing common cold like signs.
This strain has been proven to be milder than those that have come before it such as Delta and Alpha.
The spread of the bug may also be slower due to a mammoth vaccine rollout and the fact that many people have already been infected.
GET BOOSTED
The new data from the ZOE app comes as millions more Brits have been urged to come forward for their booster jabs.
It was also yesterday revealed that deaths with Covid are starting to increase – making it even more important to get jabbed.
Dr Mary Ramsay, Director of Public Health Programmes at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said: “There are early indications that deaths with Covid-19 have also started to rise.
“Whilst this is concerning, it is too early to say whether these are deaths due to Covid-19 and it is reassuring that at this stage there is no overall excess mortality.
“If you are unwell or have symptoms of a respiratory infection, it is particularly important to avoid contact with elderly people or those who are more likely to have severe disease because of their ongoing health conditions.
“Wearing a face covering will also help stop respiratory infections spreading.”
Data from the Government’s Weekly Flu and Covid report states that deaths have increased in the last week.
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