Rising cases of the common cold could be giving a false picture of the spread of coronavirus among children.
Public Health England’s weekly coronavirus report shows a rise of almost 23% in rhinovirus infections, which include the common cold, in the last week.
Among children aged five to 14, back at school since earlier this month, the rate of infection shot up by nearly 80%.
The survey acknowledges that it “may account for some of the acute respiratory incidents reported”.
Large increases in NHS 111 cold/flu calls and GP out-of-hours consultations for influenza-like illnesses were also recorded.Advertisement
Acute respiratory infections (ARI) rose by 729 over the last seven days, including 193 cases in educational settings.
Read more: Coronavirus: Common colds ‘may account for some reported COVID-19 cases’, PHE survey says
