Global health officials have been warning that symptoms associated with the Omicron variant are proving to be slightly different from those of other strains of Covid.
The new variant of the virus is spreading rapidly across the globe and will reportedly become the dominant variant in London within the next 48 hours, according to Health Secretary Sajid Javid.
Speaking on Monday evening, he said: "While Omicron represents over 20% of cases in England, we've already seen it rise to over 44% in London and we expect it to become the dominant Covid-19 variant in the capital in the next 48 hours."
Meanwhile, it is expected to become dominant in Wales by the end of the month, First Minister Mark Drakeford warned.
Other countries that have detected the new, potentially more virulent strain include Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, The Netherlands, Turkey, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, among others.
Here in Ireland health officials reported a further 8 cases of Omicron on Monday, “confirmed by whole genome sequencing, bringing the total confirmed in Ireland to 18,” Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan said.
He went on to explain that “we estimate that 11% of cases are now due to the Omicron variant, an increase from less than 1% only one week ago.”
A NPHET spokesman added: "The proportion of cases that are Omicron is now rising exponentially and it is likely that there is now widespread community transmission of this variant.
"It is likely that the proportion of cases due to the Omicron variant will increase very rapidly over the coming days."
It has been suggested that symptoms of Omicron are much milder than what patients are experiencing with Alpha, Beta and Delta, with five separate tell-tale signs altogether.
The few side effects specifically associated with the new Omicron variant are:
- A scratchy throat (rather than sore)
- A dry cough
- Extreme tiredness
- Mild muscle aches
- Night sweats
These differ to three other symptoms which health officials say are more common signs of coronavirus, which are:
- a high temperature,
- a new, continuous cough
- a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste
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