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Symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19)

Everyone who gets COVID-19 will experience it differently.

Most people who are vaccinated will experience mild symptoms. People are not vaccinated can expect more severe symptoms.

Common symptoms

Get tested

If you get any symptoms of COVID-19, get tested.

No matter the result of your test, you should stay home until you are well again.

If you're concerned, you can complete a short survey now to get advice on how to manage your symptoms.

If you get COVID-19

If your COVID-19 test is positive, it means you have COVID-19.

Learn what to do if you have COVID-19.

Most people, especially those who are vaccinated, will be able to recover from COVID-19 at home.

Symptoms of COVID-19, compared with flu, common cold and allergies

If you have symptoms, it is very difficult to tell if you have COVID-19, the flu, a cold or allergies. You should get tested to be sure.

Symptoms	COVID-19 Symptoms range from mild to severe	Cold Gradual onset of symptoms	Flu Abrupt onset of symptoms	Allergies* May be abrupt or gradual onset of symptoms
Fever	Common	Rare	Common	No
Cough	Common	Common	Common	Common (asthma)
Sore throat	Sometimes	Common	Common	Sometimes (itchy throat and palate)
Shortness of breath	Sometimes	No	No	Common (asthma)
Fatigue	Sometimes	Sometimes	Common	Sometimes
Loss of smell and/or taste	Common	Common	Common	Common (hay fever)
Aches and pains	Sometimes	Sometimes	Common	No
Headaches	Sometimes	Sometimes	Common	Sometimes
Runny or stuffy nose	Sometimes	Common	Sometimes	Common
Diarrhoea	Rare	No	Sometimes (Especially for children)	No
Sneezing	No	Common	Sometimes	Common
Vomiting or nausea	Sometimes	Rare	Common in children Rare in adults	No

Adapted from material produced by Australian Government Department of Health, WHO, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

* Respiratory allergies include allergic rhinitis (hay fever), and allergic asthma. Other common symptoms of hay fever include itchy nose and itchy, watery eyes.