The UK government updated its COVID-19 advice on Monday, adding the loss of smell and taste to the list of symptoms induced by a coronavirus.

Axar.az reports citing foreign media.

“From today, all individuals should self-isolate if they develop a new continuous cough or fever or anosmia,” the government statement said.

“Anosmia is the loss or a change in your normal sense of smell. It can also affect your sense of taste as the two are closely linked.

“We have been closely monitoring the emerging data and evidence on Covid-19 and after thorough consideration, we are now confident enough to recommend this new measure.

“The individual’s household should also self-isolate for 14 days as per the current guidelines and the individual should stay at home for 7 days, or longer if they still have symptoms other than cough or loss of sense of smell or taste.”

The statement was signed by the four chief medical officers of the United Kingdom: Prof. Chris Whitty in England, Dr. Gregor Smith in Scotland, Dr. Frank Atherton in Wales, and Dr. Michael McBride in Northern Ireland.

The other two official symptoms of coronavirus are a persistent cough and high fever.