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Today we have published the first set of preliminary findings from the Virus Watch study, which you can read in full on our website here: https://ucl-virus-watch.net/?page_id=913
Virus Watch began recruiting people in July 2020 and as of 22nd November, 20,920 households and 43,073 people across England and Wales have joined the study.
The levels of people reporting cough, fever or loss or change to sense of smell and/or taste was highest in the week commencing 21st September 2020, with the highest level of symptoms reported in children and young adults aged 0 to 17 years.
The levels of people reporting cough or fever in Virus Watch were lower for July, August, October and November 2020 compared to our prior studies on other infections conducted in 2018 and 2019.
242 people over the age of 16 in Virus Watch reported a positive COVID-19 test. Of these, 40% had close contact with other people outside the household in the 7 days prior to this test.
Of the 242 positive COVID-19 cases, 17% occurred in a one-person household and 83% in multi-person households. Of the 149 multi-person households where at least one case was reported, 70% reported a single case, while 30% reported multiple cases.
The last tweet on this thread didn't send for some reason, but it should have said:
Many thanks to the thousands of people participating in this urgent public health research study! We couldn't do this research without your time and effort.
Many thanks to the thousands of people participating in this urgent public health research study! We couldn't do this research without your time and effort.
