Covid-19 infections have grown in recent weeks, and new data released today indicates that they are up 10% from last week's results. A new sub-variant – BA.5 was first detected in April and eventually became a variant of concern in May, confirms The Sun.
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Precaution is necessary
While Omicron is milder than most other variants of the virus, chiefs at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) insist taking precautions and being diligent is still crucial. One cannot be complacent right now and should get our vaccinations up-to-date. One in 17 people currently has the bug and 13,375 patients were in the hospital as of Thursday.
Experts are also investigating further variations, such as Omicron BA.2.75. This descends from the lineage known as BA.2 earlier this month. Dr Meera Chand, UKHSA Director said:
We continue to monitor the emergence of new variants and give them variant designations if they are sufficiently distinct to warrant separate epidemiological and laboratory assessments.
It is not unexpected to see new lineages and continued investigation is a normal part of the surveillance of an infectious disease.
Symptoms to look out for
A new persistent cough, a high temperature, and a loss of taste and smell were the three primary symptoms previously listed by the NHS. According to the most recent statistics from the ZOE symptom tracker app, 57% of users reported having a sore throat, and 49% reported having a headache. Nevertheless, almost 40% of people are still coughing in some way.
They identified the following as the top five warning signs:
- Throat ache
- Headache
- congested nose
- phlegm-less cough
- a stuffy nose
Other significant symptoms that people are currently reporting include a cough that produces phlegm, a hoarse voice, sneezing, exhaustion, and muscle aches and pains.
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