Two early symptoms of Omicron Covid variant and how to spot them

Coronavirus infections are once again on the rise all across the UK. It comes as a sub-variant of Omicron is emerging, causing a new wave of symptoms that may be more commonly associated with a cold than Covid.

In fact, the most commonly reported symptoms are different from the common key symptoms - new cough, loss or change in sense of smell, and a high temperature - according to the ZOE study. This makes it difficult to discern whether you have a common cold or flu or have been infected with the new variant of Covid-19.

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Two early signs of Omicron, that are different to the main symptoms identified by the NHS, have been identified as fatigue and dizziness or fainting, the Mirror reports.

Fatigue is not just feeling tired. It can also include other symptoms like headaches as well as body pain due to weak or sore muscles. Sometimes it even leads to blurred vision and loss of appetite. Dr Angelique Coetzee, who was the doctor to first raise the alarm on Omicron in South Africa - where the variant was first discovered in November 2021 - also highlighted fatigue as one of the main signs of Omicron.

Another commonly seen symptom of Omicron is dizziness, which could lead to fainting. This discovery of dizzy spells and Covid was first noted by the German newspaper Arztezeitung.

A study in the infectious disease and epidemiology journal, Eurosurveillance, identified eight key symptoms of the Omicron variant. These include:

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