In the first week of September, Ireland recorded 425 cases of rapidly spreading new Stratus variant of Covid, XFG, commonly overlooked as strain.
It begins with unusual early warning signs like hoarse or raspy voice leading to common Covid symptoms like fever or cough.
Nasal congestion, sore throat, stomach upset and fatigue are some other symptoms of the variant infection.
As per Ireland’s Health Protection Surveillance Centre, this variant now makes up 76.1 per cent of infections, up from 49.3 per cent just six weeks ago.
This “variant under monitoring,” is primarily identified to be less dangerous, but spreads faster than earlier strains.
Dr Peter Chin-Hong, infectious disease specialist from the University of San Francisco said, “There's a little bit more sore throats with some people. Particularly in those who are older, who didn't get vaccinated last year.”
“It's more transmissible, so we expect that a lot of people will get it. Particularly with kids going back to school, a sniffle is likely going to be Covid," he added.
"If you have any symptoms of Covid and feel unwell, you should: stay at home until 48 hours after your symptoms are mostly or fully gone, avoid contact with other people, especially people at higher risk from Covid,” advised the HSE.
You do not need a Covid test unless a GP or health professional tells you to," they added.
However, Ireland’s official Covid guidance has not changed, even with the emergence of new symptoms.
