COVID-19: What are the symptoms?

People have been wearing face masks to try to prevent infection of the virus /Nicolas Asfouri/AFP

The symptoms for COVID-19 can be similar to that of the common cold or the flu. They become apparent on average around five days after a subject contracts the virus, although carriers can spread the disease 12 days after first being infected.

In February, a team of 25 scientists from the World Health Organisation (WHO) conducted tests on 55,000 people infected with the COVID-19 virus in Wuhan, China. In a

recent report

they shared their findings on the most common symptoms.

Cough

The WHO scientists found that 67 percent of those infected reported having a dry cough, similar to that brought on by the flu.

Fever

COVID-19, like many other viruses, causes a high temperature in the subject. The report notes this was the most common symptom, with 87.9 percent of subjects from Wuhan having a high temperature.

Fatigue

The third most common symptom is fatigue, with the WHO team finding that almost 40 percent of subjects noted this.

Production of mucus from the respiratory system

A third of subjects reported this symptom, which is similar to traits found in those suffering from the flu or the common cold.

Other less common symptoms

A smaller, but still significant cohort reported having a shortness of breath (18.6 percent), a sore throat (13.9 percent), a headache (13.6 percent) and chills (11.4 percent).

What isn't a common symptom?

Unlike the common cold, those suffering from COVID-19 are unlikely to be sneezing regularly and have a running nose, although there are cases where this has been reported.