The Times - UK (2022-04-05)

20 Tuesday April 5 2022 | the times

News

The NHS has expanded its official list

of Covid symptoms to include nine

more signs including a blocked nose,

headaches and a sore throat.

For the first two years of the pan-

demic the government stuck to a list of

three “official” symptoms — a new and

continuous cough, a fever and a change

in smell or taste. Many experts said that

this narrow list failed to capture the

wide array of symptoms caused by

coronavirus, meaning infectious

people missed out on tests or failed to

isolate.

Now the NHS has widened its official

list, noting that “the symptoms are very

similar to symptoms of other illnesses,

such as colds and flu”.

The nine additional signs are: short-

ness of breath; exhaustion; body aches;

headaches; sore throat; blocked nose;

loss of appetite; diarrhoea; nausea.

New government advice says that

anyone with these symptoms who feels

unwell should try to work from home

and avoid contact with others. How-

ever, they will no longer qualify for free

tests to confirm if they have Covid-

after universal free testing was

scrapped on Friday.

Most Britons, apart from the clinical-

ly vulnerable and NHS staff, will have

to pay about £2 for a test to confirm if

they have Covid-19.

Professor Sir Chris Whitty, the chief

medical officer for England, will have

been required to sign off on the NHS’s

expanded list of symptoms. Other orga-

nisations including the World Health

Organisation have had much longer

symptom lists since 2020.

Professor Tim Spector, of King’s Col-

lege London, welcomed the change and

said it could help to cut infections,

which are at a record high. On Friday

the Office for National Statistics found

that one in 13 people in England had the

virus last week, with 4.9 million infect-

ed. Spector said the timing of the end of

free testing “couldn’t really be worse”.

Downing Street said spending on lat-

eral flow devices was “unsustainable”.

NHS adds nine Covid

symptoms to official list

Eleanor Hayward

Health Correspondent

The national picture

How many people have Covid-19?

There were 143,382 new cases reported

yesterday, bringing the cumulative total to

21,359,681 or 319.8 for every 1,000 people

22.4% decrease from seven days ago

(based on seven-day moving average)

How many are in hospital?

There are 19,903 patients in hospital being

treated. 352 patients are on ventilators. An

additional 2,480 patients have been

admitted, up 9.9 per cent in seven days to

March 29 when this data was last updated

How many have died?

Yesterday there were 210 deaths reported,

bringing the total number of deaths in the

past seven days to 1,109. The rolling

average number of daily deaths is 158.4, up

from 142.6 a day a week ago

Oct Jan

2021

AprJul Oct JanApr

2022

0

50,

100,

150,

200,

Seven-day

average

National

R number

1.1 to 1.

Daily cases

Hospital admissions

Oct Jan

2021

AprJul Oct JanApr

2022

0

1,

3,

5,

Seven-day

average

Oct Jan

2021

AprJul Oct JanApr

2022

0

500

1,

1,

Deaths 2,

Seven-day

average

The Easter getaway was marred yester-
day by more disruption at airports and
bottlenecks in Dover.
There were delays of up to five hours
at the Eurotunnel car service from
Folkestone to Calais yesterday after-
noon, while HGVs were stacked on the
M20 under Operation Brock.
There were also chaotic scenes at

Dozens more flights cancelled as

coronavirus spreads through staff

Heathrow as passenger numbers

reached pre-pandemic levels amid the

continuing staffing crisis. Pictures

showed long queues for check-in and

security. Manchester airport also

suffered another day of crippling

queues and long delays.

EasyJet cancelled 62 flights to and

from the UK because of crew absences

caused by coronavirus infections. The

airline cancelled 222 flights over the

weekend. BA has scaled back its timeta-

ble until the end of May because of staff

shortages and illness. The airline said it

has cut departures on routes with the

highest frequency. It cancelled 115 de-

partures yesterday although only a

handful were last-minute.

It marked the third day of disruption

at airports which are struggling to boost

their operations in the face of surging

passenger numbers and staff illness.

One in 13 people in England are be-

lieved to have been infected with coro-

navirus in the week ending March 26,

the highest rate since the pandemic

began. People testing positive no longer

need to self-isolate but most compa-

nies, including airlines, say they should

stay at home.

A spokesman for easyJet said: “As a

result of the current high rates of Covid

infections across Europe, like all busi-

nesses easyJet is experiencing higher

than usual levels of employee sickness.”

Tour operators have reported record

last-minute bookings as Britons flee

miserable weather. For the vast major-

ity it is the first time they have travelled

since the start of the pandemic.

An aviation source described the sit-

uation at airports as “a total mess” and

said a solution was vital to prevent a

knock-on of the chaos into summer.

Cirium, the flight data company, re-

vealed that 1,143 flights to or from the

UK were cancelled in the week to Sun-

day, compared with 197 in the same

period in 2019. Of those cancelled, 382

were over the weekend, the busiest for

air travel since the pandemic began.

Andy Burnham, the mayor of Great-

er Manchester, is meeting airport boss-

es today. Manchester has been one of

the worst affected airports in recent

weeks and Burnham is considering all

means of support, including drafting in

the police and fire service. Thousands

of passengers were sent home without

their luggage over the weekend as the

baggage handling operation there col-

lapsed as a result of the strain.

Ben Clatworthy
Transport Correspondent

Q&A

Why are flights being cancelled?

Airlines and airports are struggling

with a surge in passenger numbers

at the same time as they are trying

to recruit staff. Both say lead-in time

for hiring staff is long because of

security and vetting.

What flights are most affected?

Airlines are doing their best to

cancel flights on routes with the

highest daily frequency. They are

also trying to cancel the services

with the fewest number of booked

people. The reasoning is it limits the

need to pay compensation if they

can book you on a flight that arrives

at a similar time to your original.

What if my flight is cancelled?

In the event of a last-minute

cancellation, an airline must offer an

alternative flight (including straight

rebooking, being rerouted with

another carrier) or a full refund. If

given less than seven days’ notice

you may be due a refund. If you are

travelling on a short-haul flight and

arrive more than two hours late you

may be able to claim £220. For more

information see: caa.co.uk.

What happens if I miss my flight as

I am stuck in a security queue?

Your rights are less clear cut. There

is no automatic entitlement to

rebooking or a refund. The best

advice is to arrive early. Should you

miss your flight, explain the

situation to the airline as they may

be sympathetic.