A runny nose and symptoms of the common cold should be treated as possible signs of Covid, doctors have warned. Patients are regularly presenting classic cold symptoms like a sore throat, a runny or blocked nose and headaches before testing positive for coronavirus, GPs said.
Now, a group of 140 east London general practitioners and health care professionals have signed an open letter to chief medical officer Chris Whitty, urging that the common ailments be added to the possible symptoms list.
They warn that ‘ignoring this will be at our peril’ as those with a mild infection are unwittingly spreading the disease, thinking it is just a winter bug.