MORE than a million Brits have come down with Covid this week, new data has revealed.
But as temperatures plunge across the UK, it’s normal to hear a sniffle here and a cough there.
GettyMore than a million Brits have tested positive for Covid in the last week – what are the symptoms you need to know?[/caption]
Because of this, it can be hard to distinguish whether or not you have a cold or Covid.
New data from the ZOE Health Study states that there are ten symptoms Brits are currently experiencing.
They are:
a sore throata runny nosea blocked nosesneezinga cough without phlegma headachea cough with phlegma hoarse voicemuscle aches and painsan altered sense of smell.
These reflect the ailments of those logging their symptoms from the 30 days up to December 5, the experts said.
The symptom figures from ZOE come as fresh data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) states that 1.1million Brits tested positive for Covid in the weekend ending November 26.
This is up from 1.03million last week, the experts said.
Michelle Bowen, Head of Health Surveillance Dissemination and Strategy at the ONS said: “Infections have continued to increase across England, increased in Northern Ireland for the first time in a month and the trend in all other UK countries is now uncertain.
“Across English regions and ages, it is a mixed picture of uncertainty and increases in infection rates, and we will continue to monitor the data carefully over the winter months.”
The key symptoms of a cold
In most cases, you can treat a cold without seeing a GP and the NHS says you should start to feel better within a couple of weeks.
The symptoms are usually the same in both adults and children, but experts say they could last a little bit longer in kids.
The NHS says they can come on gradually and will often include the following:
a blocked or runny nose
sore throat
headaches
muscle aches
coughs
sneezing
raised temperature
pressure in your ears and face
loss of taste and smell
It’s an increase of eight per cent on last week, with cases also climbing in kids in year 7.
Figures show that there has also been an increase in those in year 12-24 years-old and in those aged 35-49.
Around one in 60 people in England have the bug, one in 70 in Wales, one in 50 in Northern Ireland and one in 60 in Scotland.
The report stated: “Since the end of June 2022, most Covid-19 infections in the UK have been Omicron variant BA.5. A BA.5 sub-lineage, BQ.1, has been increasing considerably in recent weeks.”
Cases are still lower than they were when Omicron first burst onto the scene.
This time last year, daily cases sat at over 53,000, with over 140 deaths being reported.
And, millions of Brits are now protected from a huge vaccine rollout and immunity from prior infections.
Earlier this week it was announced that Covid jabs have been approved for kids aged six months to four-years-old.
The Pfizer jab has been authorised after meeting strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness, experts said.
The Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA) today said that no new safety concerns had been identified with the jabs.
The JCVI (Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation) will now have to decide whether or not the jabs should be given out.