COVID-19 Symptoms

COVID-19 symptoms are a lot like symptoms of the flu (influenza) or other illnesses that affect the lungs and airways (called respiratory illnesses) , such as Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and Rhinovirus that cause the common cold.

Covid-19 Symptoms

from person to person
in different age groups
depending on the COVID-19 variant

You may start experiencing symptoms anywhere from 1 to 14 days after exposure. Typically, symptoms appear between 3 and 7 days after exposure. Some of the more commonly reported symptoms include:

These symptoms include:

fever
cough
shortness of breath
trouble breathing
sore throat
runny nose
loss of sense of smell or taste

Other symptoms can include:

stuffy nose
painful swallowing
headache
chills
muscle or joint aches
feeling unwell in general
feeling more tired than usual or having no energy at all
feeling sick to your stomach (nausea), throwing up, diarrhea (watery stool), or not feeling hungry
pink eye (conjunctivitis)

COVID-19 vs. Influenza

In some ways, COVID-19 is similar to influenza (also known as the flu). Both COVID-19 and the flu cause respiratory disease. The symptoms can be similar and it can be difficult to tell the difference between influenza and COVID-19 symptoms.

However, there are some key differences between COVID-19 and the flu:

The flu and COVID-19 are caused by different viruses.
COVID-19 causes severe disease in a higher percentage of cases than seasonal influenza.
Because COVID-19 can cause serious illness, it is critical to keep it from spreading by having people follow public health recommendations, including staying home and away from others if symptoms occur.

Learn More About Omicron

Omicron is the dominant variant strain of COVID in Alberta.
The symptoms of the variant strains of COVID-19 are similar to the original strain.
Early data suggests Omicron is more infectious than the other COVID-19 variants and may result in milder symptoms, however evidence is still emerging.
There may be an increased risk of reinfection with this variant, so people who have been previously infected with COVID-19 could be re-infected more easily.

Assessing your Respiratory illness Symptoms

If you are experiencing symptoms of respiratory illness, use the assessment tool COVID-19 Self-Assessment (alberta.ca) to help decide if you should talk to someone about your symptoms or need additional care, or if you are recommended to have COVID-19 testing. You can complete an assessment for yourself or another person, like a child/youth or someone else you are caring for.