Just 1 in 5 with symptoms ask for test

FEWER than one in five people request a Covid test if they have symptoms while more than half fail to self-isolate, according to a study.

Only 52 per cent could identify the main coronavirus symptoms of a cough, fever and loss of taste or smell.

Scientists found 18 per cent of those with symptoms said they had requested a test, while only 43 per cent had followed full self-isolation guidelines.

The findings from Public Health England and Kings College London, published in the BMJ, are based on 74,697 responses to online surveys from March 2 last year to January 27 this year. While 79 per cent said they would share details of close contacts with NHS Test and Trace, there was hesitancy around whether the system was reliable and accurate.

The experts said: ‘With such low rates for symptom recognition, testing, and full self-isolation, the effectiveness of the current form of the UK’s test, trace, and isolate system is limited.’