After two years of being bombarded with briefings and updates, many of us are now choosing to live in blissful ignorance of Covid-19’s existence. Unfortunately, we’re here to remind you that the virus is still very much alive and well. In fact, experts have expressed concern over a new, highly transmissible strain that’s doing the rounds.
Omicron subvariants XBB and XBB.1.5 are spreading across many countries, including the UK. At the beginning of last month XBB.1.5 accounted for 40 percent of Covid cases in the USA. Back in October, WHO suggested that XBB had a higher reinfection risk compared with other Omicron subvariants.
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The official advice in the UK is that you should stay at home if you feel Covid symptoms coming on. You should also take a test (if you have any knocking around) and wear a face covering when out in public to minimise the risk of spread.
And if you need a refresher of the signs to look out for, look no further. Data collected by the Covid Zoe app shows that in the 30 days to January 3, sore throats were the most common symptom reported by its users. Other common signs include a runny nose and headaches, while some users experienced muscle soreness and changes to their sense of smell.
What are the top covid symptoms to look out for?
Here are the top ten symptoms reported by Zoe users in the past month:
- Sore throat – 57.3 percent
- Blocked nose – 57.8 percent
- Runny nose – 55.5 percent
- Sneezing – 52 percent
- Cough with no phlegm – 50.7 percent
- Headaches – 49.6 percent
- Cough with phlegm – 47.3 percent
- Hoarse voice – 41.4 percent
- Muscle pain – 24.7 percent
- Altered smell – 22.32 percent
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