[Lewis Thomson (OP)]

Carol has become concerned about this situation.

"I believe I’ve had Gastric Covid. We aren’t testing for it in this country. Is it a thing and should it be more in the news?"

Can you help them?

[Colin2B]

About one in five people who test positive for COVID-19 have at least one gastrointestinal symptom, eg diarrhoea, vomiting, or stomach pain.
It isn’t a separate disease, but COVID does affect the organs of individuals differently.
If the symptoms are not clearing up or are causing too much discomfort, do go and see your GP.

[evan_au]

The SARS-COV2 virus can infect any cell which expresses the ACE2 receptor. This includes the small intestine and colon.
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angiotensin-converting_enzyme_2
...and look at the RNA expression pattern to see which organs express this gene.

If SARS-COV2 can infect your gut, it is likely to cause gastro-intestinal illness. This has made PCR testing of sewage an effective way to detect community transmission of COVID before people start coming forward with symptoms.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wastewater_surveillance

But this virus has (so far) spread more effectively through respiratory route than through the fecal-oral route.
- People were fairly used to washing their hands
- People in Western countries were initially unfamiliar with mask-wearing (although it was already fairly common in Asian countries)