Think you have Covid? It’s more likely to be a cold

Sneezing
Sneezing

People feeling under the weather are three times more likely to be suffering from a cold than coronavirus, new figures suggest.

Latest data from the King’s College ZOE symptom tracker study suggests around 0.3 per cent of people in Britain are currently fighting off colds, compared to about 0.1 per cent for Covid-19 with respiratory symptoms.

According to the figures there are currently a total of 216,000 new cases of coronavirus a day, which include those with or without respiratory symptoms, a rise of 49 per cent in a week, with experts predicting infections will soon pass the record 350,000 daily cases seen in the omicron wave.

But researchers found that far more people are suffering from cold-like illnesses, and said they also expect to see a rise in flu in the coming weeks. Experts said the uptick in respiratory viruses was being driven by children returning to schools.

The data show that people experiencing sneezing and a runny nose are more likely to have a cold, while those with bad sore throats without other symptoms are more likely to have a coronavirus infection.

Professor Tim Spector, of King’s College, said: “A lot of people have colds. It’s a huge increase. We’re seeing levels we haven’t seen since October last year.

“They are at three or four times more than Covid cases, so you are more likely to have a cold than Covid.

“People often ask me, is there an easy way of telling whether you got a cold or you’ve got Covid apart from doing lots of tests?

“In colds you are more likely to have a runny nose, in Covid a runny nose is not so frequent. And sneezing is less frequent with Covid. So if you’ve got a really bad sore throat and you’re not getting any sneezing or other signs, you are less likely to have a cold but it’s pretty hard to tell.”

Hospital admissions for Covid are continuing to rise sharply, with the seven-day average for England up 33 per cent. The number of people in hospital with Covid has also risen by 37 per cent.

Latest data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) show there was a 61 per cent increase in suspected outbreaks compared with the previous week.

Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical advisor at the UK Health Security Agency, said “This week’s data shows concerning further increases in COVID-19 cases and hospitalisation rates, which are now at their highest level in months. Outbreaks in hospitals and care homes are also on the rise.”

However, the latest modelling by Professor Karl Friston at University College London (UCL) suggests that the current wave will peak at the end of October or the beginning of November and not rise again until next March.

It means Britain is unlikely to experience a significant winter wave, which could cause problems for the NHS already coping with winter pressures.

Prof Spector advised wearing masks in crowded places and eating a high-quality diet to ward off infection.

He added: “It’s clear that from your data, we’re seeing this autumn wave of Covid and three times more colds as well. So we’re getting hit by multiple viruses. We are about to be hit with flu but you’re never quite sure until it reaches these shores, because things can change very quickly.

“I think there’s a very high risk in the next few weeks of getting Covid as it drops below one in 30 people infected.”

CLARIFICATION:  This article has been updated to clarify that 0.1% of people have Covid with respiratory symptoms and 216,000 new Covid cases include those with and without respiratory symptoms.