How many people in Northampton have Covid-19 symptoms right now .. and number is growing, according to app

An app helping scientists learn more about the spread Covid-19 is reporting more people with symptoms in and around Northampton.

In the town, the number of sufferers has gone up to nearly one in every 100 people.

Over in South Northamptonshire, 0.7 per cent of people using the app are reporting feeling unwell.

And in the Daventry District Council area, the figure as doubled from seven days ago with one in every 100 reporting Covid-19 symptoms compared to one in 200 this time last week.

Nearly 9,000 smartphone users are using the Covid-19 Symptom Tracker app in the three local authority areas to anonymously report if they have been tested for Covid-19, if they feel unwell and their symptoms .. or if they feel fine.

Live data is taken from the 3,000,000-plus users nationwide and shown on a dedicated website and used by medics to track the spread of the deadly bug.

Latest updates at 5am on Tuesday (May 12) showed 0.9 per cent of 3,495 users in Northampton had symptoms similar to Covid-19.

That means just over 2,000 people among the Borough's population of 225,000 could be infected, compared to 1,800 less than a week ago.

Project leader, Dr Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at King's College London, said: “We believe that testing is a vital part of the coronavirus response, but it shouldn’t be the only response.

"We need a combination of detailed symptom collection plus tests, and the future is likely to involve a combination of solutions, not one or the other."

“The COVID Symptom app is a really good tool for finding people who suddenly aren’t very well. It can give a good indication based on symptoms whether you have a coronavirus infection. And if you do fall into that category, then you should get tested straight away.”

The app does not guarantee 100 per cent accuracy since some people can contract the virus without feeling unwell and some symptoms being reported might be caused by something other than Covid-19.

But medical teams at King's and Guy's and St Thomas' hospitals in London say the data is invaluable in finding out how the deadly bug spreads.