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NHS finally updates list of Covid-19 symptoms – with NINE new additions

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 4th April 2022

The official list of Covid-19 symptoms has been updated for the first time in two years, with nine new symptoms added.

Since the coronavirus pandemic began in 2020, the official symptoms have been listed as a high temperature, a new continuous cough, and a change or loss of sense of smell and/or taste.

But many people have been suffering with entirely different symptoms, particularly since new variants have emerged.

The NHS Covid-19 symptoms have officially been updated. Credit: Unsplash

And now the NHS has updated its guidance to reflect that, saying that the ‘symptoms are very similar to symptoms of other illnesses, such as colds and flu’.

The list now includes symptoms like headaches, runny noses, and sore throats.

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The update comes just days after free testing ended for almost everyone in England.

Read more: easyJet cancels over 200 flights due to COVID staff absences

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The full Covid-19 symptoms list for adults, according to the NHS, is now as follows:

  • a high temperature or shivering (chills) – a high temperature means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
  • a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours
  • a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste
  • 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

You can check the latest advice at nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19.

Featured image: Unsplash