Symptoms from the seasonal flu and COVID-19 are not very different. A person sick with either the flu or COVID-19 may experience fever, fatigue, a cough, and shortness of breath or difficulty breathing. A person infected with COVID-19 may also have no obvious symptoms. Medical testing is necessary to determine whether a sick individual has COVID-19 or another illness. An important thing to know about COVID-19 is that it is highly inflammatory and can cause multiple organ failure in extreme cases.

According to data in the World Health Organization - China report based on 55,924 laboratory confirmed cases, typical COVID-19 signs and symptoms include: fever (87.9%), dry cough (67.7%), fatigue (38.1%), sputum production (33.4%), shortness of breath (18.6%), sore throat (13.9%), headache (13.6%), myalgia or arthralgia (14.8%), chills (11.4%), nausea or vomiting (5.0%), nasal congestion (4.8%), diarrhea (3.7%), hemoptysis (0.9%), and conjunctival congestion (0.8%).

Drafted 6 April 2020