Covid-19 'Eris' variant cases rising rapidly in UK. Symptoms, prevention, and everything you need to know

livemint.com:

World Health Organisation (WHO) has raised an alarm about the rise in cases of the ‘Eris’ variant. However, it has also been noted that this new variant of Covid-19 is not any more severe than the previous variants. In the week beginning 10 July, approximately 11.8% of UK sequences were identified as Eris, and the latest data indicates that this figure has climbed to a worrisome 14.6% of all cases.

“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," said Dr Mary Ramsay, UKHSA’s Head of Immunisation. According to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), EG.5.1, is the descendant of Omicron. The variant has been nicknamed Eris.

It was first classified as a variant in the UK on 31 July. UKHSA has said that the Eris variant makes up one in seven new Covid cases in the UK. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has added EG.5.1 to the list of variants under monitoring.

There is no indication that the new variant is any more severe as the latest UKHSA data suggests it now accounts for 14.6 per cent of all Covid cases in the country, even as Covid-19 case rates continued to increase. Covid-19 Eris variant is a strain of the formerly extremely prevalent Omicron strain of coronavirus. According to the ZOE Health Study, as reported by The Independent, the five most common symptoms of Omicron are: -Runny nose -Headache -Fatigue (mild or severe) -Sneezing -Sore throat -It is recommended that you take your vaccines against the coronavirus.