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Entertainment

Covid 19 Delta outbreak: Comedian Rose Matafeo re-training sense of smell after virus

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Rose Matafeo has been working to regain her sense of smell daily since recovering from Covid. Photo / Instagram

Rose Matafeo has been working to regain her sense of smell daily since recovering from Covid. Photo / Instagram

NZ Herald

Kiwi comedian Rose Matafeo is working on training her sense of smell, weeks after recovering from Covid-19.

The acclaimed actor and writer lost her senses of taste and smell when she contracted the virus, a common side-effect of Covid-19.

She told fans on Instagram that she has been "huffing scents all over to train it back".

Matafeo shared the aftermath of her Covid illness with followers on her Instagram Stories.

"My taste and smell has been slowly coming back in the past couple weeks, I've been huffing scents all over to train it back," she wrote in an Instagram story.

She previously told fans she hadn't been able to taste coffee in the same way since recovering from the virus a few weeks ago, and asked if any of those who'd had Covid had lost their sense of smell and then gained it back.

"So many replies about this, hot damn," she wrote afterwards.

The loss of the senses of smell and taste is a commonly reported side-effect of Covid-19 and it is considered one of its mildest symptoms.

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For many who recover from the illness, the senses return within weeks of being infected. However, some report not being able to smell or taste anything months after their recovery.

Experts recommend people go through "smell training", as Matafeo is doing, to retrain their senses.

The training involves smelling several different strong scents twice daily, in an attempt to stimulate the olfactory system.

"I find it helps to close your eyes when you do it, Ratatouille style," Matafeo told her followers, referring to the animated movie about a rat seeking to become a chef.

The "Starstruck" star contracted Covid in the UK, where she moved to in 2016.