Loss of the senses of taste and smell has been defined as one of the key symptoms of coronavirus under new Government guidance.
The development comes as research shows it is the best indicator for the virus, with two in three sufferers experiencing changes in those senses, the Telegraph reported.
Scientists criticised health officials for being slow to issue the new advice, saying far too many people have been circulating, and been encouraged to go back to work, when they should have been self-isolating.
Until now, the rules to classify cases have said the virus should only be suspected if a person has a new continuous cough or fever, but the new clinical advice adds “anosmia” – the loss of taste or smell – to the list.
Anyone suffering a loss of taste or smell, or a noticeable change to those senses, should self-isolate for seven days to reduce the risk of spreading the infection, according to the guidance from the UK’s chief medical officers.
Those sharing a household with someone with such symptoms should stay at home for 14 days.
It comes as a British study found that 65 per cent of those who tested positive for coronavirus had reported loss of smell and taste – three times as many as those who tested negative.
The research, by King’s College London, involved 2.6 million Britons, including more than 18,000 who underwent tests for the virus. Changes in smell and taste were far more reliable indicators of Covid-19 than symptoms such as persistent cough or fever, it found.
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