Health

Loss of taste and smell IS sign of coronavirus – but it’s STILL left off official symptoms list


A LOSS of taste and smell is a sign of coronavirus – but it’s STILL being left off official symptoms list, the Government admitted today.

Currently, the NHS is urging people not to leave their homes if they have a persistent cough, or a high temperature, or if a family member does.

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 A loss of taste and smell is a sign of coronavirus – but it’s still left off official symptoms list
A loss of taste and smell is a sign of coronavirus – but it’s still left off official symptoms listCredit: Getty Images – Getty

But some people who have had coronavirus have also reported experiencing a loss of their sense of taste or smell.

Asked about the unusual symptom during the Downing Street press briefing today, the country’s top scientist, Sir Patrick Vallance said it was a feature of the virus.

However, he followed it up by saying that it was up to the Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty – who himself is currently self-isolating after showing symptoms – to change the official diagnostics list.

Chief Scientific Adviser, Sir Patrick, said: “The symptoms that the Chief Medical Officer has outlined – and the ones that you should self-isolate on – are a persistent new cough or fever.

 Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and Public Health England medical director Yvonne Doyle during a media briefing in Downing Street today
Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and Public Health England medical director Yvonne Doyle during a media briefing in Downing Street todayCredit: PA:Press Association

“Loss of taste and smell is something that can happen with other respiratory viruses.

“It does seem to be a feature of this from what people are reporting and it is something that people should take into account as they think about their symptoms.

“I think it’s for the Chief Medical Officer to decide at what point, if any, diagnostic change takes place in terms of self-isolation.

“Those symptoms we are learning about for this disease are the ones that will get more information on over time but a new cough or fever captures the vast majority of people with this illness.”

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Last week, specialist nose and throat doctors urged ministers to recognise loss of smell and taste as an official sign of the deadly illness.

The British Association of Otorhinolaryngology (ENT UK), which represents ear, nose and throat experts around the country, say they have seen a ‘significant’ number of patients suffering from these effects of Covid-19.

ENT UK say medics across the world have reported rising numbers of people in the past month saying they have anosmia – the technical term for a lost sense of smell.

The organisation says it has told Public Health England about the apparent link.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) also said it is investigating the link between loss of smell and taste and Covid-19.

 A nurse takes a swab at a Covid-19 Drive-Through testing station for NHS staff in Chessington., Kingston Upon Thames, today
A nurse takes a swab at a Covid-19 Drive-Through testing station for NHS staff in Chessington., Kingston Upon Thames, todayCredit: Getty Images – Getty

It’s thought that losing the ability to smell or taste could be due to the virus destroying cells in the nose and throat.

Experts say it’s something people can commonly experience after having other types of coronaviruses – such as the common cold.

Prof Carl Philpott, of the Norwich Medical School at UEA, said: “Coronaviruses have previously been associated with what we refer to as post-viral olfactory loss– this is smell loss that persists after a cold.

“There are many respiratory viruses that can potentially cause problems with the smell receptors.

“So far with Covid-19, the smell loss appears to be transient but only as time elapses will we know how many people have a more permanent loss.”

Cases rise

Meanwhile, there has been almost a 50 per cent rise in just a few days in the number of people being treated for coronavirus in England’s hospitals, according to new figures.

Sir Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, said on Friday that more than 6,200 patients were in hospital with Covid-19.

But on Monday, he said this figure had jumped to more than 9,000.

 Scientists have produced a day-by-day breakdown of the typical Covid-19 symptoms
Scientists have produced a day-by-day breakdown of the typical Covid-19 symptoms

It comes as 1,408 people are now confirmed to have died in UK hospitals after testing positive for Covid-19, as of 5pm on Sunday.

This is up 180 from the 1,228 the day before.

Earlier the head of the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) said around one in four NHS doctors are off work sick or in isolation.

Public Health England (PHE) also announced that almost 11,000 coronavirus tests a day can now be carried out.

The Government had set a target of carrying out 10,000 tests a day by Sunday but PHE figures show 9,114 had been carried out as of 9am on Saturday and 8,278 had been carried out by the same time on Sunday.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) will this week release figures on deaths involving Covid-19 in the wider community, such as care homes.

The ONS will look at deaths where Covid-19 was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate, including in combination with other health conditions.

These figures are likely to inform a truer picture of how many people have died after being diagnosed with coronavirus, rather than just looking at deaths in hospitals.

Speaking on a visit to the new NHS Nightingale Hospital on the ExCeL site in east London, Sir Simon said that the number of patients will increase, but extra capacity is being made available.

He said: “Today, there are over 9,000 positive coronavirus patients in hospitals across England and we know that number is only going to increase.

“That’s why what you see here is a mass mobilisation, taking place right across the country, but also at these new Nightingale hospitals.

“We have got available intensive care and available hospital beds but we are also bringing online additional capacity such as these Nightingale hospitals as we need them.”

NHS England Chief Simon Stevens says 9,000 coronavirus patients being treated in hospital





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