You should stay at home if you have a high temperature (Image: Getty)
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has confirmed a ‘stay at home’ rule for people who experience one of two key Covid-19 symptoms.
Covid-19 is currently circulating in the UK at low levels, but positive cases are slowly on the rise. Latest figures from the UKHSA published on October 8 show that the rate of positive Covid tests in hospital increased from 7.9% to 9.1% in the week to October 4, 2026, while overall weekly hospital admissions increased to 2.04 per 100,000 compared with 1.75 per 100,000 in the previous week. As of 4 October 2026, a total of 1,638 Covid-19 cases were identified in hospital settings, up from 1,328 cases in the previous week.
Figures show positivity rates were highest among people aged 85 and over, with cases rising to 13.1% in the week to October 4, up from 10.4% in the same age group on the previous Sunday.
Covid-19 rates tend to rise as winter approaches as the colder weather means people tend to spend more time indoors in close proximity with others, which makes it easier for respiratory viruses to spread.
Many Covid symptoms overlap with other common winter viruses like colds and flu, but UKHSA and NHS advice recommends staying at home if you experience one of two key symptoms.
Health officials say you should stay at home and avoid contact with others if you:
don’t feel well enough to go to work, school, childcare, or do your normal activities
If you are unable to stay at home, you should wear a face mask when going out to reduce the risk of spreading the infection to others, avoid crowded places, and cover your nose and mouth when you cough or sneeze.
Confirming the stay at home advice this week, the UKHSA said: “If you have symptoms of a respiratory infection, such as COVID-19, and you have a high temperature or do not feel well enough to go to work or carry out normal activities, you should avoid contact with vulnerable people and stay at home if possible.
“For those of us who absolutely can’t stay at home, the guidance remains unchanged, and will reduce the chance of passing on your infection to others:
avoid crowded places such as public transport, large social gatherings, or anywhere that is enclosed or poorly ventilated
take any exercise outdoors in places where you will not have close contact with other people
cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze; wash your hands frequently with soap and water or use hand sanitiser after coughing, sneezing and blowing your nose and before you eat or handle food; avoid touching your face.”
UKHSA data shows that of the positive Covid samples sequenced between August 31, 2026 and September 13, 2025, 9.1% were classified as the XFG strain, a Covid variant known as Stratus or ‘American Covid’.
This variant was first identified last January and has since spread globally, with the World Health Organisation identifying it as a mix of the LF.7 and LP.8.1.2 variants.
The XFG strain is currently the most common Covid-19 variant but it is not thought to lead to more serious illness than other strains in circulation, and vaccines are expected to remain effective in offering protection against it.
You’ll be eligible for a Covid-19 vaccine if you’re aged 75 and over, have a weakened immune system, or you live in a care home. The NHS will contact you if you are eligible and anyone who falls into the eligible groups is “strongly encouraged” to take up the vaccine.
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
