The summer wave of Covid-19 is still rife in Ireland as the highly transmissible BA.4 and BA.5 variants spread and hospital numbers continue to rise.
Health officials have been posting new guidance, encouraging people to self-isolate even with mild symptoms of the virus, to try and minimise the spread.
As the virus continues to grow and change, new symptoms are being brought to light and the public is being warned to isolate if they develop them.
READ MORE: Irish professor warns of latest Covid symptom occuring at night in some patients
If you are displaying signs of Covid, even mild ones, you should self-isolate until 48 hours after their symptoms are mostly or completely gone and wear a face mask if you have to be around other people.
This measure should be followed even if you have completed your first round of Covid vaccination, had a booster, or have had Covid in the past.
Last week, Luke O’Neill said the newly identified sign of the BA.5 variant was published this morning that the strain - which has been linked to Omicron - has been causing havoc across the globe in recent weeks.
O’Neill said: "Most cases in Ireland at the moment would be BA.5, for instance, same in the US. It's another curveball that has been thrown at us by this virus, and BA.5 is the dominant variant that's out there at the moment.”
When speaking about the summer wave, he said it is now believed that there are some key differences in the symptoms being reported - and people need to be aware of them.
"One extra symptom for BA.5 I saw this morning is night sweats," he said.
"The disease is slightly different because the virus has changed. There is some immunity to it, with the T cells and so on, and that mix of your immune system and the virus being slightly different might give rise to a slightly different disease - with strangely enough - night sweats being a feature.”
The most common symptoms of Covid are:
- fever (high temperature - 38 degrees Celsius or above) - including having chills
- dry cough
- fatigue (tiredness)
Less common symptoms of Covid include:
- loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this could mean they're completely gone or just different from normal
- nasal congestion (runny or blocked nose)
- conjunctivitis (also known as red-eye or pink eye)
- sore throat
- headache
- muscle or joint pain (aches and pains)
- different types of skin rash
- nausea or vomiting
- diarrhoea
- chills or dizziness
Symptoms of severe Covid include:
- shortness of breath or breathing difficulties
- loss of appetite
- confusion
- pain or pressure in the chest
- fever (high temperature - 38 degrees Celsius or above)
Although the summer wave is rampant, Irish officials have yet to reintroduce any new restrictions as the rate of vaccination remains high and side effects seem less severe.
If you’re due your vaccine, booster, or additional dose, you can book them up to five days in advance on the HSE website.
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