As the normal flu season continues on during the pandemic, it can be difficult with so much illness going around. 

Dallas County Health Department Public Information Officer Ann Cochran says that both the flu virus and COVID-19 are contagious respiratory illnesses that are caused by two different viruses. Despite this, Cochran says it’s difficult to tell the difference. 

“The only way to really tell is to have a COVID test but having said that it really doesn’t matter from a public health point of view. If you have the flu, or COVID, or a cold, stay home. The rest of us don’t want you to share the love, so just stay away from other people.”

Cochran tells Raccoon Valley Radio a lot of the symptoms between COVID-19 and the flu can be the same including a fever and chills, a cough, fatigue or body aches and a sore throat among others, but some are different. 

“The one or two that are much different with COVID is with COVID a lot of folks get shortness of breath or difficulty breathing and that’s generally not something you see in flu and then also that unusual you lose your sense of taste or smell which is really different.”

Cochran says regardless of what you might be ill with, she advocates staying home and resting to get better.