Covid cases are beginning to rise dramatically across the UK as a new variant sweeps across the country.
The so-called 'Kraken' variant - otherwise known as XBB1.5 - has slowly begun accounting for a large amount of cases. The sub-lineage Omicron variant of the virus has doubled its presence in the UK in first two weeks of 2021.
On January 12, 11 per cent of cases were due to this growing strain. Because of this, members of the public may begin paying more attention to their symptoms, however, if you have one particular symptom, you may not need to be worried.
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Professor Tim Spector, co-founder of the ZOE Health Study, explains that while a sore throat and runny nose are the most common symptoms of Covid right now, a fever may indicate you have the flu instead. He said: "Less than one in ten people are getting any sort of fever at all.
"That signifies this increased differentiation between Covid and flu. So it's much more likely if you've got really bad fevers, you've got a flu virus rather than Covid."
What are the most common symptoms of Covid?
Tim highlighted that a fever doesn't even make the top 20 most commonly reported symptoms for Covid. This is why if you have a really bad fever, then it is more likely to be the flu instead of coronavirus.
According to the ZOE health study, the most commonly reported symptoms are as follows:
- Sore throat - 57 per cent
- Runny nose - 57 per cent
- Blocked nose - 56 per cent
- Sneezing - 53 per cent
- Headache - 53 per cent
- Cough with no phlegm - 50 per cent
- Cough with phlegm - 41 per cent
- Hoarse voice - 34 per cent
- Muscle pain aches - 29 per cent
- Dizziness - 19 per cent
Meanwhile, the latest figures by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show total Covid-19 infections in the UK have dropped for the fourth week in a row.
A total of 941,800 people in private households in the UK were likely to have had Covid-19 in the week ending January 24, down 15% from 1.1 million the previous week.
However, experts fear there were “concerning” signs the number may be starting to rise and infections are not falling across all age groups - with increases in England among primary and secondary school children and for 35-49 year-olds.
Michelle Bowen, ONS head of health surveillance, said that while infections across the UK nations showed “an overall decrease”, there are “differing trends when we look across age groups”.
She added: “In England we have seen increases in school age children and those aged 35-49 years in the latest week, with decreases only seen in over-50s.
“We will continue to monitor the data closely to see how the situation evolves in the coming weeks.”
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