"Half of Patients with Cold Symptoms May Have COVID-19... Testing Needed to Save Lives, UK Study Finds"

UK Researchers: "If You Have Cold Symptoms, Get Tested for COVID-19 Immediately"

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[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] A study has found that half of the patients with common cold symptoms such as runny nose and headache are likely to be infected with COVID-19.

On the 23rd (local time), BBC and the daily The Times introduced the analysis results of the Zoe COVID research team, which has been tracking COVID-19 in collaboration with King's College London (KCL).

Currently, in the UK, the Omicron variant is spreading rapidly, with daily confirmed COVID-19 cases reaching 144,000. Most confirmed cases show mild symptoms, and some are known to be asymptomatic.

Professor Tim Spector, who led the study, said it is advisable to get tested for COVID-19 as soon as cold symptoms appear. He explained, "Symptomatic confirmed cases have exploded last week. Most Omicron-positive patients will experience symptoms similar to a common cold, starting with sore throat, runny nose, and headache," adding, "This clearly shows that the main symptoms of COVID-19 are no longer repetitive coughing, high fever, or loss of smell and taste."

He further stated, "Omicron-positive patients may feel like they have a common cold," and "To save lives, public messaging urgently needs to be changed."

According to Zoe COVID data, the recent infection reproduction number (R) is about 1.2, meaning one infected person transmits the virus to an average of 1.2 others.

Professor Spector advised, "Rapid infectious disease tests help identify asymptomatic carriers who can spread the virus without symptoms," and recommended, "Get tested for COVID-19 quickly before meeting friends and family at Christmas."

Meanwhile, UK health authorities are concerned that the doubling of COVID-19 cases every 2-3 days could increase the burden on the National Health Service (NHS).

Early studies showed that the Omicron variant causes milder symptoms and lower hospitalization rates due to severe illness compared to previous variants like Delta. However, considering its high transmissibility, the rapid increase in new cases could quickly raise the number of patients requiring hospitalization, putting pressure on the healthcare system.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.