A new study involving more than one million people across England has revealed there could be four more symptoms of coronavirus.
The new findings are based on both swab tests and questionnaires conducted by the Imperial College London-led React study.
The swabs taken as part of the study were taken between June 2020 and January 2021.
- Chills were linked with testing positive across all ages, while headaches were reported in children aged five to 17.
- A loss of appetite was reported more in 18-54 year olds and those aged 55 and over.
- Muscle aches were mostly reported in people aged between 18 and 54.
- According to the study, children were also less likely to report of a fever, a persistent cough and appetite loss compared with adults.
Professor Paul Elliott, director of the React programme at Imperial, said: “These new findings suggest many people with Covid-19 won’t be getting tested – and therefore won’t be self-isolating – because their symptoms don’t match those used in current public health guidance to help identify infected people.
“We understand that there is a need for clear testing criteria, and that including lots of symptoms which are commonly found in other illnesses like seasonal flu could risk people self-isolating unnecessarily.
“I hope that our findings on the most informative symptoms mean that the testing programme can take advantage of the most up-to-date evidence, helping to identify more infected people.”
The government are currently encouraging people to get a Covid-19 test if they have any of the classic symptoms which also includes losing your sense of smell and taste.
The main coronavirus Symptoms
- Dry continuous cough
- Fever
- The loss of your normal sense of smell (and frequently sense of taste too.
