Health experts have warned of ten symptoms that mean people should stay at home for Christmas.
Boris Johnson hasn't brought in restrictions banning Christmas parties this year and neither has Nicola Sturgeon.
But people should still be cautious as cases surge with the arrival of the new Omicron variant across the country.
Many of the Covid symptoms are similar to cold-like conditions which people should be on the look out for, reports the Mirror.
Tim Spector, from the Covid Zoe app, said those with cold-like symptoms should work from home and avoid parties at Christmas to curb the spread of the virus.
He told Times Radio, the UK should be “much more open-minded about who we are testing” and “get more people to isolate at least for a few days with cold-like symptoms”.
“At the moment, we’re estimating that somewhere between one and three and one in four colds are actually due to Covid,” he said.
“And so that’s quite a high rate of people that are currently not even bothered to get a lateral flow test, or getting a PCR test, going to parties and spreading it around.
“So if that transfers to Omicron then we’re going to be compiling that problem much faster than we would need to.”
He added: “We want to tell people that if you don’t feel well that day, don’t go out, don’t go to work, work from home, because the start of that sniffle, the start of that sore throat, that headache could be a mild dose of Covid that is just breaking through your vaccine.
“So I think everyone needs to be much more aware of a whole range of symptoms and not wait for the loss of smell or taste which may never come, not wait for fever, not wait for that persistent cough.”
Many of the ailments could be passed off as symptoms of just the common cold, including sneezing, a blocked nose and headaches.
Ten symptoms to look out for
The ten symptoms to look out for are:
1. A high temperature. This means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
2. A new, continuous cough. This means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or three or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
3. A loss or change to your sense of smell or taste. This means you've noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal.
4. Night sweats when you sweat so much that your night clothes and bedding are soaking wet, even though where you are sleeping is cool.
5. A blocked or runny nose
6. A sore throat
7. Headaches
8. Muscle aches
9. Sneezing
10. Pressure in your ears and face
If you are suffering from one or more of these ten symptoms it does not necessarily mean you have the virus.
But the public area advised to pick up a lateral flow test or go for a PCR test if they are in any doubt they may have contracted Covid.
