The NHS has issued a plea for Brits to stay home and minimise contact with others if they experience three key symptoms after contracting COVID-19, as the nation grapples with a surge in cases.
The public has been given advice on how to proceed should they exhibit signs of infection, amidst concerns that a new variant could take hold globally.
Dubbed XEC, this variant was initially identified in Germany and has since spread to 27 countries across Europe, Asia, and North America, with over 600 cases reported globally, including 82 in the UK.
Characterised by several mutations, XEC is believed to be highly contagious. This development coincides with a resurgence of Covid infections in the UK, SurreyLive reports.
Data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) indicates a 21.6 percent rise in Covid cases in England within a week. In the week leading up to 25 September, there were 2,797 confirmed Covid cases, marking an increase of 530 from the previous week.
Furthermore, the week ending on 20 September saw Covid-related deaths in England spike by 50 percent, totalling 134 fatalities.
Guidance for those with Covid
Although self-isolation is no longer compulsory in the UK, the NHS advises those with symptoms to stay indoors and avoid others, particularly if you have a high temperature or don’t feel well enough to go to work, school or carry out your normal activities.
“You can go back to your normal activities when you feel better or do not have a high temperature,” according to the NHS website. “If your child has mild symptoms such as a runny nose, sore throat or mild cough, and they feel well enough, they can go to school or childcare.”
If you test positive, the health body advises:
- Try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for three days after the day the test was taken if you or your child are under 18 years old – children and young people tend to be infectious to other people for less time than adults
- Try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for five days after the day you took your test if you are 18 years old or over
- Avoid meeting people who are more likely to get seriously ill from viruses, such as people with a weakened immune system, for 10 days after the day you took your test.
Symptoms
The symptoms of XEC are believed to be similar to other Covid strains and may include:
- 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)
- A new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or three or more coughing episodes in 24 hours
- A loss or change to your sense of smell or taste
- Shortness of breath
- Feeling tired or exhausted
- An aching body
- A headache
- A sore throat or blocked/runny nose
- Loss of appetite
- Diarrhoea
- Feeling sick or being sick.
Booster jabs will be available until 20 December this year. They will be offered to those considered most at risk from Covid, including:
- Over-65s
- People aged between six months and 64 years with health conditions that make them more vulnerable
- People living in care homes for older people
- Frontline health and social-care staff, including in care homes for older people.
The NHS will directly contact eligible patients, but they can also arrange their own appointments now via the NHS App, GPs, pharmacies, drop-in clinics, or by calling 119. Anyone also entitled to the flu jab will be offered this simultaneously.
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