Many Netherlands Covid-19 patients thought they had a cold, hay fever

Many people who had the coronavirus incorrectly attributed their symptoms to a cold or hay fever, blood bank Sanquin reported based on questionnaires completed by 3,676 blood donors. 48 percent of people who had antibodies against the coronavirus in their blood, stated on the questionnaire that they had not been infected, Het Parool reports.

A total of 239 of the 3,676 surveyed donors turned out to have coronavirus antibodies in their blood. 11 percent of them had experienced no symptoms at all and 27 percent had only very minor symptoms. 41 percent reported loss of smell or taste.

The researchers called it noteworthy that the majority of infected people who mistakenly thought they did not have to coronavirus had experienced symptoms. "This underlines the advice from the GGD: get tested immediately if you have symptoms, and cooperate in contact tracing," the Sanquin researchers said.

The blood bank also noticed the opposite scenario - people thought they had the coronavirus, but turned out not to have any antibodies. Of the blood donors who said they had recovered from the virus on the questionnaire, only 20 percent actually had antibodies.