Does there have to be a fever present to have COVID-19?

Certainly not. The typical symptoms of a COVID-19 infection are

• fever
• dry cough and
• runny nose.

Anosmia has also been described as a symptom in a significant percentage of patients.

However, many people with COVID-19 infections have also turned out to be asymptomatic, with little or no symptoms. Hence in short, you may not have a fever or flu symptoms to have a COVID-19 infection.

Best regards