Health officials have confirmed that Ireland is currently seeing “an increase in Covid infections”, reports The Mirror.
This is because a new variant of Eris has been detected here, 64 cases have been confirmed so far.
The World Health Organization classifies the iris as a “variant of interest” under identification EG.5.1.
The new strain has yet to be listed as a “variant of concern.”
It was founded in the US and UK, where more than 800,000 people are believed to have been infected. The north is said to experience the fastest spread of the disease.
The Health Protection Surveillance Center (HPSC) says Eris, a subvariant of Omicron, is more infectious than earlier circulating variants. He added that there is no evidence that this strain makes the disease worse.
The Statement issued on Friday said: “HPSC reported this week that the new variant of interest (VOI) EG.5.1 (‘Eris’) has been detected among cases in Ireland. This variant is more transmissible than previous circulating variants and has been associated with outbreaks, including in hospitals, in Ireland and in the UK. There is currently no evidence of increased clinical severity of infection but people are still advised to follow COVID-19 prevention measures and follow advice on COVID-19 vaccinations,” rpeorts The Mirror.
“We are currently seeing an increase in COVID-19 infections in Ireland. Indicators had been trending downwards during May and June 2023, and began to increase again from the end of June. A similar trend is occurring in the UK. The number of patients in ICU that had COVID-19 infection did increase slightly during July, but remains overall low. However, as in previous waves, if COVID-19 case numbers increase substantially, some level of increased hospital and ICU admissions is likely to follow,” the statement follows, reports The Mirror.
“COVID-19 is still circulating in our community and is causing hospital admissions. It’s important we all continue to take simple actions like handwashing and covering your cough that will protect our families and communities, particularly those at the greatest risk of severe illness,” the statement added, reports The Mirror.
Symptoms:
Sore throat
Runny nose
Blocked nose
Sneezing
Dry cough
Headache
Wet cough
Hoarse voice
Muscle aches
Altered smell
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