Covid-19: Bury St Edmunds nurse's rash warning

Jade Roberts said Bertie's rash started on his hand but later spread to his cheeks, ears, knees and stomach

A nurse whose toddler tested positive for coronavirus after developing a rash has said she wants to raise awareness of the potential symptom.

Jade Roberts, from Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, said she was shocked when 17-month-old Bertie tested positive.

The mother-of-three said: "When the rash came up, Covid didn't enter my mind."

She said the red spots puzzled her GP, who thought it looked like an allergic reaction.

Mrs Roberts, a nurse at West Suffolk Hospital, said she decided to take Bertie for a drive-through test as she "wasn't convinced" the doctor was correct.

The Roberts family are self-isolating after Bertie's positive test

After the positive result, she said she shared photos of Bertie's rash on Facebook to make people aware, including colleagues and healthcare professionals.

The 34-year-old said: "You're constantly told the symptoms are a high temperature, loss of taste or smell or a continuous cough."

The NHS says the main symptoms are a high temperature, a new, continuous cough or a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste.

It says most people with coronavirus have at least one of these symptoms.

However, a small study by Spanish doctors found five rashes, including Covid toe, affected some hospital patients diagnosed with Covid-19.

Mrs Roberts said Bertie's rash was "tender to touch"

Mrs Roberts, whose Facebook post was shared 4,000 times, said other parents had contacted her to say they had a similar experience.

She said Bertie's rash started on his right hand, "presented initially like hives" and was "tender to touch".

He developed a runny nose and the rash later spread to his cheeks, ears, knees and stomach.

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Another mum recently urged parents to be alert to symptoms such as mottled skin and sickness.

Dr Michael Head, at the University of Southampton, previously said rashes were a well-known side effect of many viral infections and it was not yet fully known why inflammation occurs in some patients but not others.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "An expert and independent scientific group keeps the list of symptoms of Covid-19 under constant review as our understanding of the virus continues to evolve."