Three 'classic' Covid symptoms that have changed with Omicron

According to a Covid expert, continuous cough, a fever and loss of taste or smell - which were identified at the start of the pandemic - are now less common.

UK epidemiologist and professor Tim Spector explained that the “virus has evolved”, which has caused the symptoms to change too.

Omicron has replaced Delta as the dominant variant in England, and according to data collected by the ZOE Covid Study app, symptoms tend to be milder.

A recent analysis found that “only 50% of people experiencing the classic three symptoms of fever, cough, or loss of sense of smell or taste”.

Prof Spector  wrote in a blog post on newsGP: “Importantly, we found that only half of people with Covid had any of the classic three symptoms of fever, cough or loss of sense of smell.”

The most common symptoms of Omicron, according to the ZOE study app, are runny nose, headache, fatigue (mimld or severe), sneezing, sore throat.

Prof Spector continued: “Omicron appears to be continuing the trend set by Delta. It’s causing symptoms that are much more like a regular cold, particularly in people who’ve been vaccinated, and fewer general systemic symptoms, such as nausea, muscle pains, diarrhoea and skin rashes."