A new study out of the U.K. finds that loss of smell or taste is a “highly reliable” indicator that someone has contracted COVID-19. But after contracting COVID-19, Fletcher experienced difficulty breathing, abdominal pain and lost his sense of smell and taste. According to Justin Turner, a doctor and medical director of Vanderbilt University’s Smell and Taste Center, about 50%-70% of patients with COVID-19 will lose part or all of their sense of smell and/or taste. Turner says for up to 25% of COVID-19 patients, the loss of smell and taste could be the first -- and sometimes only -- sign of infection. The loss of smell and taste can linger for months following a COVID-19 infection; it’s often the last symptom to resolve.