WHO sounds alarm as Covid-19 new variant ‘Eris’ cases rise sharply in UK
PTI, the sub-variant named EG.5.1 (nicknamed Eris) is spreading quickly in the country. Notably, the variant Eris was recognized only on 31 July after the infections from the virus skyrocketed. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has advised the countries to stay alert and follow the Covid appropriate behaviour.
As per UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), the number of Covid-19 cases is rising in the country. The health agency said that 5.4% of 4,396 respiratory specimens reported through the Respiratory DataMart System were identified as COVID-19. The overall COVID-19 hospital admission rate for week 30 was 1.97 per 100,000 population, an increase from 1.17 per 100,000 in the previous report, the UKHSA said.
The news platform India Today quoted UKHSA informing that currently, the Eris sub-variant is making one in seven new COVID cases. "COVID-19 case rates continued to increase this week compared to our previous report. 5.4% of 4,396 respiratory specimens reported through the Respiratory DataMart System were identified as COVID-19.
This is compared to 3.7% of 4,403 from the previous report," the UKHSA said in a report. “EG.5.1 was first raised as a signal in monitoring on July 3, 2023, as part of horizon scanning due to increasing reports internationally, particularly in Asia," the UKHSA said. “It was subsequently raised from a signal in monitoring to a variant V-23JUL-01 on July 31, 2023, due to the increasing number of genomes in UK data, and continued growth internationally.
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