COVID symptom list has changed; THESE are the common signs of the infection now, experts say

The order of COVID symptoms, from the most prevalent ones to the least, can be said to have changed. Two years into pandemic, health experts have seen a shift in the occurrence of COVID symptoms. The symptoms which are tagged as the 'common symptoms' are the red flags and should be dealt with proper preventive measures and, if necessary, medical intervention.

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Apart from fever, headache, and other cold-related symptoms, the most common symptom seen during the onset of COVID infection these days is sore throat.

Tim Spector, PhD, a professor of genetic epidemiology at King's College London and co-founder of the COVID ZOE study app says that two-thirds of people with COVID are seen having sore throats as a symptom.

In a report carried by the Independent, Spector said that fever and loss of smell and taste are hardly seen in people these days.

In a report released on September 1, Spector's Zoe COVID app had said that loss of appetite still remains one of the typical symptoms of COVID. "Early in the pandemic, loss of appetite was reported by around three in ten adults with COVID, rising to roughly four in ten people over 65," the report says and adds that it has now fallen slightly with subsequent variants and vaccination, with just over a quarter of people (25-27%) reporting skipping meals with Delta or Omicron after three doses of the vaccine.

The other symptoms of COVID which are also commonly seen in people are runny nose, headache, sneezing, persistent cough, shortness of breath and sometimes fever.

Fatigue continues to persist in people during and after COVID and is currently seen as a big indicator of long COVID condition, in which the symptoms are seen in the individual weeks and months after a COVID infection.

Apart from these diarrhea, chest pain, tinnitus, sleep issues, loss of memory and focus should not be ignored if these persist for a longer time.

The fact that people are not updated with the new COVID symptoms, they live under the impression that they do not have COVID. Fever has always been seen as the primary key symptom of COVID ever since the pandemic happened. However, these days no fever does not mean you do not have COVID. With a sore throat and a mild headache there are chances you might have contracted the viral infection.

Fever and loss of smell are really rare now, so many old people may not think they've got COVID. They'd say it's a cold and not be tested, Spector told the newspaper.

The lack of awareness around symptoms hampers the pace of testing and surveillance. People who are only aware about the outdated symptoms of the infection do not test themselves. As a result of which the infection keeps on spreading.

This also reduces the chance of identifying a newer variant quickly. More testing will lead to more effective tracking of the super-mutating coronavirus.

India recorded less than 2,000 COVID cases in the last 24 hours as per the data shared by the Union Health Ministry. India's active COVID caseload currently stands at 30,362. The recovery rate stands at 98.75% with 3,908 recoveries in the last 24 hours. While the daily positivity rate stands at 0.94% the weekly positivity rate stands at 1.34%.

With COVID cases dropping and hinting better days, Delhi government is planning to withdraw the COVID restrictions.

Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has announced that the Rs 500 penalty for not wearing masks in public places in Delhi has been withdrawn.

However, wearing masks is advisable if you are in a crowded place or are sick and can not avoid staying indoors.