A high proportion of COVID-19 patients experience a total or partial loss of smell. This, in turn, has led to a call for anosmia (smell loss) to be treated as a symptom of the disease. Of importance in managing the coronavirus pandemic is the possibility that smell loss can begin as the only symptom in a person who is otherwise well, but who may be an unaware carrier and a potential spreader of the virus.

A current paper in the Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of NSW by Dr Graham Bell FRSN describes a novel, simple home test (requiring only regular household items) for detecting any loss in the sense of smell, as soon it it happens, alerting individuals to the potential onset of COVID-19.