Infection by the sars-cov-2 virus (coronavirus) causes a range of flu-like symptoms which can be mild or serious. To date, testing for coronavirus in the Bristol area has focussed on people with severe symptoms. This means that existing test results do not give a full picture of how many people in the Bristol area have already had coronavirus infection.

Rather than using tests, it may be possible to track the spread of coronavirus over time by looking at how many people are experiencing flu-like symptoms. This analysis plans to divide flu-like symptoms into two groups (those which are specific to coronavirus and those which are common in many types of cold or flu) and compare how the rate of these has changed between October 2019 and June 2020. This may give more information about the posible true rate of mild infection in the Bristol area, as well as how the number of people with coronavirus is changing over time.