The new Omicron variant is sweeping the country and Covid cases are soaring to record levels.
However, many of the most reported Omicron symptoms are similar to a common cold.
To help, the Mirror has reported on how you can tell the difference between a cold and Omicron.
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Tim Spector is lead scientist on the Zoe study, which asks people to report their symptoms via an app which has been in place throughout the pandemic.
Mr Spector, who is a professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London, said early indications "show that Omicron is breaking through in vaccinated people, but it’s causing milder cold-like symptoms".
He added: “However, this is not a reason to be relaxed about Omicron.
“Covid is unpredictable and, even if most only feel like they’ve got a cold, there are far more long-term risks than a cold carries.”
Virologist and professor of molecular oncology Lawrence Young said if in doubt, do a lateral flow test before you go out and if your children have a similar symptoms of a cold, test.
He told the Sun: "There does seem to be an overlap with cold symptoms and there is an estimation from data from ZOE that a quarter of people who have colds actually have Covid.
"They do overlap but it seems that the onset of a cold is a bit more gradual. But with Omicron people get headaches and fatigue rapidly if they have Covid, whereas a cold develops over a few days."
Dr Angelique Coetzee, chair of the South African Medical Association, who was one of the first people to suspect the Omicron Covid strain, has said she noticed patients at her private clinic showing symptoms that are different from the Delta variant.
Dr Coetzee told the AFP that she alerted health officials of a "clinical picture that doesn't fit Delta" on November 18 when seven patients showed different symptoms that seemed "very much related to normal viral infection".
She said her patients presented with extreme tiredness, mild muscle aches, scratchy throat and dry cough.
Unlike the previous variants, this one doesn't cause loss of taste or smell, she added.
According to the NHS, the main coronavirus symptoms are:
- A high temperature
- A new, continuous cough
- A loss or change to your sense of smell or taste
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