The first Irish case of the Pirola Covid variant has been identified.
The variant, officially named BA.2.86, was designated a Variant Under Monitoring (VOM) by the World Health Organization in August and later by the European Centre for Disease Control.
Pirola was first reported in Israel on 13 August.
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Luckily, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre said that with this variant, there does not appear to be any evidence to date of increased transmissibility, or impact of clinical severity.
However, it is important to remember that Covid can still be severe for certain groups and it should be avoided where possible.
What are the symptoms?
According to Patient Info UK, the most common symptoms include: Sneezing, sore throat, headache, fatigue, high temperature, a runny nose, changes to your sense of taste or smell.
Less common symptoms include: Skin rashes, changes in the mouth or tongue - such as ulcers or soreness - sore fingers or toes, diarrhoea and itchy eyes.
What should I do if I have Covid?
According to the HSE, if you have tested positive for COVID-19, you can pass on the virus to other people.
You need to:
- stay at home for 5 days
- avoid contact with other people, especially people at higher risk from COVID-19
Stay at home from the date you first had symptoms.
You can leave home after 5 days if your symptoms have fully or mostly gone for the last 48 hours
It's OK to leave home after 5 days if you still have a mild cough or changes to your sense of smell. These can last for weeks after the infection has gone.
If you did not have symptoms but have tested positive, stay at home for 5 days from the day you first tested positive.
Avoid meeting people at very high risk for 10 days from the day you first tested positive.
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