Should you still take a COVID test if you have a runny nose?

COVID is on the rise. So for everyone should we all return to using COVID home-testing kits whenever we get a runny nose, sore throat or cough?

COVID testing hit the headlines last week, when Team GB’s Olympic swimming star, Adam Peaty, revealed he’d tested positive a day after winning silver in the 100m breaststroke.

Peaty said that he had released his test result as ‘an advocate for complete transparency’.

Team GB said they have been constantly monitoring infection rates in Paris and the UK, as cases were mounting in the weeks before the Olympics began (there is no regular Covid testing of athletes at the Games).

UK COVID rates are indeed on the rise, according to NHS data. This may be down to the emergence of a new family of variants called FLiRT.

Latest figures from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) show that in mid-July, hospitals recorded 3,557 new cases a week, increasing by 4.5 per cent week-on-week.

There were also 152 deaths in a week, a 20 per cent rise.

But that’s not the whole story, says Stephen Griffin, a professor of cancer virology at the University of Leeds.

‘’Official figures don’t reflect the full picture because we’re not testing and reporting rigorously like we were,’’ Professor Griffin said.

‘’Our only recorded testing now is in hospital patients. And those figures are two weeks behind what’s happening.’’

Latest figures from around four million users of the ZoE Health Study app indicate the UK had just under 100,000 symptomatic cases of COVID last week. in response to rising numbers, numerous NHS sites now require patients, visitors and staff to wear masks in clinical areas.

So who should test themselves?

The NHS advises people who are at highest risk of COVID-19 should take a rapid lateral flow test as soon as they get symptoms — though there is no official requirement.

This includes those aged 85 or over; care home residents and cancer patients.

But Dr Simon Clarke, an associate professor in cellular microbiology at Reading University, says many more people should consider self-testing.

‘’There are no clear boundaries to vulnerability, so other groups who should strongly consider testing include people with Type 2 diabetes or who are morbidly obese. But I don’t think people should be obliged to test,’’ Dr Clarke said.

If you have symptoms, common-sense anti-spreading precautions apply whether it’s COVID, or a cold or flu, he says — this means as well as staying away from vulnerable people.

‘’It is polite to take measures not to spread it: The old flu advice — catch it, bin it, kill it — applies strongly to COVID, too.’’

Professor Griffin goes further, saying if you have COVID-like symptoms (the most common currently are runny nose, headache, cough, sore throat and muscle ache), ‘’and you can buy a COVID testing kit, then use one’

Professor Griffin cautions: ‘‘A negative test doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t have COVID — it can miss the virus in up to 30 per cent of cases.’’

‘’Instead, repeat the test according to the instructions.’’

As for working or socialising, current NHS advice is that if you test positive: ‘‘Try to stay away from other people until you feel better. If you need to leave home, avoid indoor or crowded places (including public transport or large social gatherings) or places where there is not much fresh air.’’

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) says: ‘’If you test positive for Covid you should tell your employer. Self-isolating is no longer a legal requirement. instead, you should follow your employer’s policies.’’

Professor Griffin is more cautious: ‘‘If you can, then stay at home. Don’t rush back to work because overdoing things quickly may increase your risk of developing long Covid.’’

What about masks?

If infected, current NHS advice is to ‘wear a face covering when it’s hard to stay away from other people’.

A new scientific analysis from Oxford University found any type of mask is better than none.

If you do decide to test, you can still buy them cheaply from pharmacies and online.

‘’Ideally, use a test kit that is within its best-before date,’’ says Professor Griffin.

‘’If you only have one that’s been sitting in a drawer and is out of date, but the fluid in the plastic tube that the swab goes into hasn’t evaporated, then it should be OK as a last resort.’’