Brits have been offered some clarity on the key symptoms to look out for this winter season to better understand whether they may be affected by coronavirus, cold or flu – amid a rise in a new strain of Covid. Claire Nevinson, superintendent pharmacist at Boots, explained the difference between the cold, flu and Covid symptoms. She told the Mirror: “Common symptoms of both cold and flu include a sore throat, blocked or runny nose, sneezing and coughing. Cold symptoms tend to be milder and come on gradually. People usually start to feel better within a week or two.
“In contrast, flu symptoms tend to start more suddenly, be more severe and last longer. Common flu symptoms include a fever, aching muscles and chills.
“The main symptoms of Covid are a high temperature, a new, continuous cough and loss or change to your sense of taste or smell, but people can also get other symptoms which are very similar to colds and flu.” Claire added that while new variants this year are starting to circulate, there is little evidence so far to suggest they cause widely different symptoms from other variants.
This comes as cases of the variant dubbed “American Covid” are on the rise in the UK. The latest strain of the virus, officially called XFG or Stratus, comes from North America but now accounts for more than half of all positive tests in the country.
The most common symptoms are: congestion, cough, fever, headache, runny nose, muscle aches, and a sore, hoarse throat. Experts say a scratchy throat that makes your voice croaky is the most unique symptom distinguishing XFG from other strains.
The latest figures show 4,589 Covid cases were recorded last month, marking an increase of around 230% on August’s figures (1,374). There was also a big uptick in hospital admissions, from 950 in August to 4,939 in September.
Meanwhile, the percentage of tests in hospitals that came back positive for Covid rose from 5.9% to 7.0% in the seven days leading up to September 30, according to figures from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
XFG was actually first detected in Southeast Asia in 2025 before becoming dominant in the US. Mutations are thought to have made XFG more infectious than previous strains.
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
