Loss of Taste, Smell, Strong Predictors for COVID-19 U.K. Researchers Find

Researchers at King's College London say a patient's loss of smell and taste is a strong predictor that they have the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, with as many as 59 percent of people who've tested positive for the virus reporting those symptoms.

The data appears to track previously reported studies on COVID-19 symptoms. Patients around the world have reported losing their senses, but, the World Health Organization does not yet consider them key symptoms of the virus.

At least 53 percent of patients who tested positive for the coronavirus reported feeling tiredness and fatigue. At least 29 percent of patients reported a persistent cough, while 28 percent of respondents reported shortness of breath. At least ten percent of patients recorded a high fever as one of their symptoms.

Researchers used data collected by the University between March 24 and 29 via a tracking app launched by scientists to help them better understand the progress of the disease.

Turkmenistan Reportedly Bans the Word "Coronavirus"

Leaders in Turkmenistan have banned citizens and government officials from saying or using the word "coronavirus" according to a report from Reporters Without Borders.

The Central Asian country, run by Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, a dentist/rapper turned politician, has reportedly forbidden state run media from writing or using the word "coronavirus" in its reports, and has ordered that the word be removed from health brochures found in hospitals, schools and workplaces.

According to correspondents with Radio Free Europe, plainclothes police officers are also arresting any citizens who are wearing face masks or talking about COVID-19 in public.

“This denial of information not only endangers the Turkmen citizens most at risk but also reinforces the authoritarianism imposed by President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov," Jeanne Cavelier, head of the Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk of the media rights group, said on March 31. "We urge the international community to react and to take him to task for his systematic human rights violations."

So far, the Turkmen government has not reported even one case of COVID-19, while other countries bordering Turkmenistan have all confirmed dozens of infections. Iran, which is south of Turkmenstian, is one of the hardest hit countries in the world, with more than 47,000 infections.

To keep up to date on the latest news about the coronavirus and to understand what you need to stay safe and healthy, check out the Coronavirus: Fact vs Fiction podcast from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

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