According to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), there has been a 17% uplift in reported cases of Covid over the past 7 days compared to the previous week.
Covid has been surging throughout this summer with a new group of variants known collectively as FLIRT and, according to health experts, now is the ideal time for the virus to spread.
Speaking to The Independent, Dr Mariyam Malik, an NHS and private GP at Pall Mall Medical. said: “Increased travel and big events such as festivals often result in crowded settings where the virus can spread more easily, and there are no longer any legal restrictions like wearing masks or social distancing.”
What are the symptoms of the new Covid strains?
Prof Paul Hunter, an epidemiology expert from the University of East Anglia spoke with the BBC about Covid as we know it now and said: “We are all of us going to get repeated Covid infections from births through to death. Generally what we’ve seen is that over the last three years, four years, the severity of illness associated with Covid has gone down a lot.
“Ultimately, it’s going to become another cause of the common cold and, for many people, that’s what it is now. To be honest, you can’t really avoid it because it’s so common.”
The official list of Covid symptoms has not changed, according to the UKHSA.
Symptoms include:
- High temperature or shivering
- New, continuous cough
- Loss or change to your sense of smell or taste
- Shortness of breath
- Feeling tired or exhausted
- Aching body
- Headache
- Sore throat
- Blocked or runny nose
- Loss of appetite
- Diarrhoea
- Feeling sick or being sick
If you have underlying health conditions and get Covid, get in touch with your GP to ensure that you get the treatment that you need.