Covid: Dr Hilary Jones provides update as UK infection rates rise
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info
The current UK wave is fuelled by two Omicron subvariants called BA.4 and BA.5. The latest Government data reports a 26.5 percent rise in Covid cases in the week leading up to 1 July. As jabbed people can also be struck down by the infection, it’s important to be aware of the signs, including an “early” symptom.
The Zoe Covid Study app reports that one “early” symptom seen in ill patients is a sore throat.
What’s more, this painful sign can also target those who’ve had their jabs.
Zoe explains: “Even though a sore throat is a less well-known symptom of COVID-19, it’s an early sign of the disease and reasonably common in children and adults up to the age of 65.”
It also reports that this symptom was seen in 69 percent of their contributors.
READ MORE: Lung cancer: Expert warns of risk factor in your home that many people are ‘unaware of’
The study app asks its users to log on information about their symptoms when they are positive for coronavirus, which allows the researchers to identify the common signs.
Apart from being one of the earliest pointers to a Covid infection, sore throat is also a “common” symptom.
The data from Zoe explains that this sign seems to mainly affect adults and children.
However, 37 percent of their elderly users also reported this scratchy symptom.
When it comes to spotting a Covid sore throat, Zoe shares you’re looking for a relatively mild pain that lasts between five to seven days.
A very painful sore throat that is also persistent could be a sign of a bacterial infection as well.
Classed as an “early” sign, sore throat occurs within the first week of the illness.
Zoe adds: “It feels worse on the first day of infection but gets better on each following day.”
READ MORE: Cliff Richard: ‘It’s held me in good stead’ – star’s 3 tips for ‘healthy ageing’
See the latest Covid vaccine stats below and visit InYourArea for all the Covid vaccine latest
However, if your sore throat is persistent and not improving, it might not be pointing to Covid.
Zoe shares that it’s “important to remember” that sore throats could be triggered by a variety of respiratory illnesses.
This means that suffering from solely this sign doesn’t necessarily mean you have the virus.
Although sore throat could be pointing to a variety of health conditions, there are also other Covid symptoms that can help identify the infection.
According to Zoe, other symptoms that can appear alongside a scratchy throat are fatigue, headaches, hoarse voice, cough and fever.
Here’s the full list of the main symptoms linked to Covid as reported by the NHS:
- High temperature or shivering (chills)
- New, continuous cough
- Loss or change to your sense of smell or taste
- Shortness of breath
- Feeling tired or exhausted
- Aching body
- Headache
- Sore throat
- Blocked or runny nose
- Loss of appetite
- Diarrhoea
- Feeling sick or being sick.
While it’s no longer required to self-isolate by the law, the health service still encourages people with Covid to stay at home and avoid contact with others.
Source: Read Full Article