New Covid Symptoms Added To Official NHS List As Free Testing Ends

Monday, 4 April 2022 12:08

By Dominic Kureen @WriteOnDom

The official list of Covid-19 symptoms has been expanded to include nine new signs of the disease including headaches, diarrhoea and a blocked nose.

The list has been updated as Covid infection levels hit a record high in the UK, with almost five million people estimated to be currently infected.

Prof Tim Spector, lead scientist of the Zoe Covid-19 symptom tracker app, has said updating the symptoms list is overdue and could help reduce infections.

The extension comes just days after the government ended the offer of free universal Covid tests.

The new symptoms have been added to the NHS website, alongside the three traditional symptoms of a fever, a new and persistent cough, and a loss or change in taste or smell.

According to the NHS the signs of COVID-19 that people should look out for also include:

shortness of breath;
feeling tired or exhausted;
an aching body;
a headache;
a sore throat;
a blocked or runny nose;
loss of appetite;
diarrhoea;
feeling sick or being sick.

A note on the NHS website adds:

"The symptoms are very similar to symptoms of other illnesses, such as colds and flu."

Both the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the US have had longer symptom lists for some time.

But in the UK the NHS list had just three symptoms for almost two years.

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