The UK Health Service has expanded its list of possible symptoms of coronavirus infection after the Omicron sub-variant, known as BA.2, re-launched new reports of cases in much of Europe.
The updated list of symptomswhich now includes feelings of fatigue or exhaustion, as well as nausea, brings the National Health Service’s description of the disease largely in line with the description of the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States.
At the start of the pandemic, some health experts criticized the British health authorities for too narrow a list of symptoms. Initially it included only two – fever and a new, continuous cough – with loss of taste and smell later.
The advent of the Omicron variant has prompted the public interest was restored in the symptoms of Covid-19 and whether they differ from the symptoms of previous variants of the virus such as Delta.
It seems BA.2 more transmissible than an earlier version of Omicron, BA.1, but apparently it does not cause other symptoms, according to Dr. Jennifer Leiter, an epidemiologist and pediatric infectious disease specialist at New York University Langone Health.
The full list of possible symptoms of Covid National Health Service now includes:
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Fever or chills (chills);
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A new, incessant cough;
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Loss or change of smell or taste;
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Shortness of breath;
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Feeling tired or exhausted;
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Body aches and headaches;
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Sore throat;
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Clogging or runny nose;
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Loss of appetite;
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Diarrhea;
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Bad feeling or nausea in the stomach.
“The symptoms are very similar to the symptoms of other diseases such as colds and flu,” the NHS said in a statement.
The British government has repealed all its legally enforced coronavirus restrictions in February. Since then, the number of positive tests has risen, and about every 13 people in England have tested positive for the week ending 26 March, according to the UK’s Office for National Statistics.
The number of people hospitalized with Covid-19 has increased, but the number of people in intensive care remains well below the number observed in the midst of the Delta wave in January 2021.
In the UK as a whole, there have been an average of around 65,000 people recently new cases of coronavirus per day, which is 27 percent less than two weeks earlier, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
In other events around the world:
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Greece this week will begin offering additional coronavirus vaccines to the elderly, the head of the vaccination committee said Tuesday. The pictures will be available to people over 80 on Thursday, and in a week they can access those over 70, and in a week – for those over 60. In January, Greece suspended a monthly fine of 100 euros for people over 60 who remained unvaccinated.
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The provinces of Quebec and Prince Edward Island Canada on Tuesday announced an extension of its mandate for indoor masks, warning of a widespread weakening trend and making the provinces one of the last places in North America to continue demanding masks in all closed public places, according to Reuters. Health officials in Quebec said they expected an increase in coronavirus cases in the province this month.
