A coronavirus expert has warned people to be aware of six symptoms of covid-19, as a new variant of the virus spreads across the country.
Tim Spector OBE, lead scientist on the ZOE Covid Symptom Study app and Professor of Genetic Epidemiology at King’s College London, has urged people to be vigilant and to look out for the symptoms.
His warning comes as the government holds talks on whether to impose another national lockdown or to put more areas into Tier 4 restrictions - reports Birmingham Live.
Mr Spector said: “Cases in the UK are still rising rapidly with an R value of 1.3 doubling roughly every week.
" This new virus strain is being blamed for the recent surge in London and the South East, but while it is definitely becoming the dominant strain in new infections, there’s still no hard evidence yet to support that it is acting differently."
Tier four is effectively cancelling Christmas plans and imposing measures similar to previous national lockdowns.
He said: "It’s possible that these rapid changes would have happened anyway, just as they have done in Wales which has 4 times the national rate.
"Whichever strain is causing the recent increases, we are still in a mess and need to limit the number of cases, especially in the elderly to help the NHS.
"Testing alone is not going to stop the spread, just as it didn’t with the previous waves."
Mr Spector then outlined the six symptoms other than the recognised NHS symptoms of a fever, continuous cough and loss of taste and smell.
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He said: "People need to know all the symptoms and not just focus on the three “official” symptoms that miss over 20% of cases.
"Headache, fatigue, diarrhoea, muscle pain, skipping meals and confusion are just some of the other symptoms associated with Covid-19.
"If anyone is suffering from any of these over the coming weeks, stay at home, self isolate and get a test."
