Okay so we’ve all been enjoying this bizarre snow/World Cup/Christmas party season. But now the disease-induced chaos of 2022 seems to be repeating itself – with Covid cases shooting up all over the UK. Just what we needed (not).
The NHS has warned that, with Covid cases up 22 percent in a single week, more than 10,000 people could be hospitalised with the virus by the end of the year. It’s leaving many of us in a pickle about travelling home for Christmas, what with the risk to older and more vulnerable family members.
Dr Daniel Goyal, who works on an NHS Covid ward, told The Independent: ‘What we’re seeing is people picking up Covid in hospital, then being delayed from going home, adding more pressure to the service. It brings the question as to why we haven’t done anything significant to try and reduce transmission.’
Admissions are highest among those aged 85 and over, and there’s also been a jump among children aged four and under. So if you are travelling home for Christmas to see family, you might want to take extra care to test and keep an eye on your symptoms. These are changing all the time due to the emergence of new strains, but health tracking app ZOE has just released list the tell-tale signs to look out for this winter.
Concerned about what you might be coming down with? Here are the ten most common symptoms right now:
- A sore throat
- A runny nose
- A blocked nose
- Sneezing
- A cough without phlegm
- A headache
- A cough with phlegm
- A hoarse voice
- Muscle aches and pains
- An altered sense of smell