COVID-19 symptoms

What to do if you have symptoms

If you have any symptoms of COVID-19 you should stay at home until your symptoms subside and you feel well with no fever.

LFT tests are available to purchase online, in pharmacies and most supermarkets for optional diagnostic home testing.

List of symptoms

Symptoms of COVID-19 can include:

• sore throat
  
• runny or blocked nose
• sneezing
• a new, continuous or persistent cough (this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours)
• a headache
• a high temperature or shivering (chills) (a high temperature means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back. You do not need to measure your temperature)
• feeling tired or exhausted
• a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste
• sudden confusion (delirium)
• a skin rash
• changes in the mouth or tongue
• red and sore fingers or toes
• shortness of breath
• chest pains
• muscle pains
• diarrhoea
• loss of appetite
• abdominal pains
  

If you test positive

If your LFT is positive, you should stay at home until you feel well with no fever, and you should avoid contact with vulnerable people for 10 days.

Positive COVID-19 cases

If you test negative

If you have a negative LFT, you can carry on with your normal routine but should not visit vulnerable people while symptomatic.

It is a good idea to stay at home if you are still feeling unwell, to stop the spread of all illnesses.

If you are worried about your condition, contact your GP or call 999 in an emergency.

Ongoing symptoms or long COVID

Most people infected with COVID-19 will experience a mild to moderate viral illness and recover without requiring special treatment. However, for some people, COVID-19 can cause symptoms that last more than 4 weeks or months after the infection has gone. This is sometimes called post-COVID-19 syndrome or long COVID.

Long COVID