Covid Eris symptoms: Common red flags of new fast-spreading coronavirus variant
Over 800,000 people in the UK are thought to be affected by the new Eris variant, making it the second most common strain, with poor weather and waning immunity blamed for the current spike
Britain has seen a Covid surge over the past six weeks, with an estimated jump of 200,000 cases last month as more than 800,000 people are said to have the new strain.
One in seven cases across the country have now been attributed to the new Eris variant, as cases of the virus continue to rise across all age groups. At the start of last month, 3.3 people out of 100,000 had Covid. That has now jumped significantly, with 7.2 having it as of July 29.
Eris, a subvariant of Omicron, is being blamed for the spike, with it now accounting for 1 in 10 Covid cases. But overall levels of hospital admission remain "extremely low", according to the UKHSA.
The variant arrived in the UK in early May, with the World Health Organisation adding it to its watch list under the identification of EG.5.1 soon after. It is not currently listed as a variant of concern, with Dr Mary Ramsay, Head of Immunisation at the UK Health Security Agency stating: “We continue to see a rise in Covid-19 cases in this week’s report.
“We have also seen a small rise in hospital admission rates in most age groups, particularly among the elderly. Overall levels of admission still remain extremely low and we are not currently seeing a similar increase in ICU admissions. We will continue to monitor these rates closely.”
According to the ZOE study, the daily Covid contraction rate has surpassed 50,000 people, with Northern Ireland experiencing the fastest spread of the disease, followed by Scotland, Wales, the West Midlands, the South West, the North East and London.
There are a number of symptoms medics say you should watch out for as the spread continues. The main ones are similar to the heavily publicised Omicron symptoms - a sore throat, a runny nose, a blocked nose, sneezing, a cough without phlegm, a headache, a cough with phlegm, a hoarse voice, muscle aches and pains and an altered sense of smell. However, shortness of breath, a loss of smell and a fever are no longer the main symptoms.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/health/covid-eris-symptoms-common-red-30661574