The recent rise in Covid cases in Scotland has been caused by the Delta variant which is thought to be up to 60% more transmissable than the Alpha variant. 

This isn't the only difference however, with many people reporting symptoms which vary from the original continuous cough, loss of taste and smell and high temperature listed by the WHO. 

So, what are the new symptoms we should be looking out for? 

What are the symptoms of the Delta Covid variant? 

An app called Zoe has been tracking people's Covid-19 symptoms and has recently reported a change. 

Now the most common symptoms among those who test positive for Covid-19 are:

  • a headache
  • sore throat
  • runny nose 
  • fever

While the original symptoms are now less common, they are still the official symptoms listed on the UK Government guidance. 

Does the vaccine work against the Delta variant of Covid-19? 

The Delta variant is now the predominant strain in the UK but evidence suggests that the current Covid vaccines are effective against it.

This can be seen in the demographic of those testing positive for Covid-19: the virus is largely spreading among the younger population who have less protection from the vaccine. 

Who is testing positive for Covid-19 at the moment? 

Covid-19 is mainly spreading through the younger population, with cases highest amongst people in their 20s. 

According to trends produced by Public Health Scotland using data provided by the NHS, over the past couple of weeks there has been a spike in the number of men aged 20-45 testing positive compared to women of the same age. 

Here are the daily figures for your area: