A GP's advice on how to tell if you have COVID-19, flu or the cold

The latest family of COVID-19 sub variants - FLiRT - led to a spike in infections in May when the ACT recorded 747 cases.

National disease surveillance data showed there had been 524 cases recorded through PCR testing as of June 20.

Between June 7 and 13, there were 45 patients admitted to hospitals in the ACT while two were in intensive care and one person was ventilated.

Two women, in their 80s and 100s, and a man in his 90s have also died in this period.

Cases of pneumonia caused by influenza and the common cold or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) had already been reported in March.

While influenza infections steadily increased from 292 cases in May to 394 cases in June so far, confirmed cases of RSV had skyrocketed to 798 in May. There have been 429 RSV infections in ACT this month, as of June 20.

General practitioner Dr Kerrie Aust said it could be hard to tell what whether you have COVID-19, flu or the common cold, if you have not been tested yet.

She pointed out the main differences between the common cold and viruses like influenza and COVID-19.

"With a cold you like with the rhinovirus, you might have a sore throat, bit of a stuffy nose, maybe a mild headache and people might have low-grade fevers ... they don't tend to be very high," Dr Aust said.

"With more serious infections of COVID-19 and with influenza, people might get higher fevers, cough and a sore throat. They might have headaches, vomiting and we often also see diarrhoea with both influenza and with COVID-19."

She said a common cold infection would be a "fairly short illness", lasting up to five or six days.

Both RSV and Influenza infections have been highly reported in children under nine.

Similar to RAT tests, some pharmacies have stock of home self-tests which detect COVID-19, influenza and RSV. These tests cost between $30-$50.

Dr Aust encouraged people to get tested and her advice to parents with young children was to keep them very well-hydrated.

"Especially in little babies when we want to see a good four to six wet nappies a day which gives us a good indication of their hydration," she said.

"We want to make sure that they're drinking enough and we should keep an eye on their breathing."

She added one of the signs somebody was not well and needed urgent care was if they were breathing fast. In adults, this may look like a "hunger" for air if they find it difficult to take good breaths.

In severe cases, RSV and influenza have led to pneumonia presentations in emergency departments in ACT public hospitals. There were 388 presentations diagnosed last month.