As Covid-19 cases once again rise globally, health officials in Ireland are advising people to remain at home if they begin to feel unwell, reports The Mirror.
A newly identified variant called NB.1.8.1 has now been confirmed in Ireland. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that the variant first appeared in January and by the end of April accounted for around 10.7% of global Covid cases, up from just 2.5% the month before.
NB.1.8.1 was recently added to the WHO’s official watch list. While it may be more contagious than earlier versions of the virus, there is currently no indication that it leads to more serious symptoms or illness, reports The Mirror.
Ireland has seen a swift increase in cases linked to this strain. Data from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) shows that the share of sequenced Covid samples associated with NB.1.8.1 has risen from 3.7% to 27.3% in the past five weeks.
The variant is already dominant in parts of Asia, such as China and Hong Kong, and has also been found in the UK, US, Australia, and several popular tourist destinations including Thailand, Egypt, and the Maldives, reports The Mirror.
Doctors are noticing changes in symptoms compared to earlier waves of Covid. While previous variants were mostly associated with cold or flu-like symptoms, this one is now being linked to digestive issues in some people—including nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, bloating, constipation, stomach pain, and heartburn.
Dr Lara Herrero, Associate Professor and Virology Research Leader at Griffith University, explained: “Common symptoms [of NB.1.8.1] include sore throat, fatigue, fever, mild cough, muscle aches and nasal congestion. Gastrointestinal symptoms may also occur in some cases,” reports The Mirror.
The HSE warns that Irish residents experiencing off-season cold symptoms or gastrointestinal problems might unknowingly have contracted Covid.
Current public health advice in Ireland has not changed: if you have any symptoms of Covid, stay home until 48 hours after your symptoms have mostly or completely disappeared. You should also avoid close contact with others, especially those more vulnerable to the virus, reports The Mirror.
The HSE continues to remind people of the broad list of Covid symptoms they should monitor for. These include:
- fever (high temperature – 38C or above) – including having chills
- dry cough
- fatigue (tiredness)
- loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this could mean they’re completely gone or just different to normal
- nasal congestion (runny or blocked nose)
- conjunctivitis (also known as red eye or pink eye)
- sore throat
- headache
- muscle or joint pain (aches and pains)
- different types of skin rash
- nausea or vomiting
- diarrhoea
- chills
- dizziness
- shortness of breath or breathing difficulties
- loss of appetite
- confusion
- pain or pressure in the chest.
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