COVID-19 patients and those with a heavy cold," Philpott said.The researchers noted that COVID-19 behaves differently to other respiratory viruses, for example by causing the body's immune system to over-react, known as a cytokine storm, and by affecting the nervous system.They found that smell loss was much more profound in the COVID-19 patents, and they were less able to identify smells, and were not able to identify bitter or sweet tastes.The researchers said it was this loss of true taste which seemed to be present in the COVID-19 patients compared to those with a cold."This is very exciting because it means that smell and taste tests could be used to discriminate between COVID-19 patients and people with a regular cold or flu,".