Four cases of Mu have been identified in Ireland.
It is believed by health officials that the Mu variant is even more contagious than the Delta variant, which wreaked havoc across Ireland at the beginning of this year.
When it comes to symptoms, Mu shares the same indicators of the original virus.
According to the WHO, the most common symptoms of Covid-19 are:
- fever
- cough
- tiredness
- loss of taste or smell.
The news comes as the latest HSPC data revealed that the battle with the coronavirus is not over yet, despite Ireland's high vaccination rollout.
The national incidence rate of the coronavirus stands at 390.4 cases per 100,000 population.
And while a good chunk of the country fall below that rate, a number sit alarmingly above it according to the latest information available from the HSPC.
As of Monday evening, the worst-affected counties in Ireland by the virus were:
- Monaghan with an incidence rate of 868.3 cases per 100,000 population , meaning one in every 70 people in the Ulster county has the virus.
- Donegal , with an incidence rate of 805.3 cases per 100,000 population . There were 1,282 new cases confirmed in the county in the fortnight up to Monday.
- Louth , with a rate of 676.3 cases per 100,000 population , is third in the list, though the five day moving average is 73 cases.
- Carlow with a rate of 569.1 cases per 100,000 population . 190 people have recorded a positive test in the last seven days.
- Laois rounds out the top five, with a rate of 512.4 cases per 100,000 population.
On the opposite side of things there is good news for those in Wicklow, Leitrim, Sligo, Wexford and Galway.
Those are the five counties with the lowest incidence rate for the last 14 days, according to the HSPC.
