According to a study of nearly 56,000 laboratory confirmed cases cited in the WHO report, the most common symptom, experienced by 88% of confirmed patients, is a fever. The other most common symptoms according to that study are, in descending order:
- Dry cough (68%)
- Fatigue (38%)
- Coughing up sputum/mucus production (33%)
- Shortness of breath (19%)
- Joint or muscle pain (15%)
- Sore throat (14%)
- Headache (14%)
- Chills (11%)
- Nausea or vomiting (5%)
- Nasal congestion (5%)
- Diarrhea (3%)
- Coughing up blood (1%)
- Eye discharge (1%)
One thing missing from this list is anosmia, or loss of sense of smell. Anecdotal reports suggest that people with milder cases of the disease could have telltale symptoms like the loss of their sense of smell and/or taste, however the WHO has not yet added those symptoms to its official list, as the data are not yet strong enough. But an analysis of a COVID-19 symptom-tracking app in the U.K. shows 59% of the 579 users who had tested positive for the disease reported a loss of smell and taste, compared to 18% who did not have the disease.—Billy Perrigo