Experts have warned that people may mistake the new Covid BA.2 variant symptoms as common allergies.
The new variant, which is considered to be a subvariant of Omicron, has arrived in Ireland, with over 500 cases now confirmed in the country.
BA.2 has several key mutations, with the most important of those occurring in the spike protein that studs the outside of the virus.
These mutations are shared with the original Omicron, but BA.2 also has additional genetic changes not seen in the initial version.
Covid cases in Ireland have surged in recent weeks, with the latest update on Thursday stating that 8,910 PCR-confirmed cases were notified to the Department of Health in the last 24 hours, along with 14,215 positive antigen tests registered through the HSE portal.
As of 8:00 am, 1,425 Covid patients were being treated in hospital with severe side effects of the virus, an increase of 30 people since Wednesday.
Of this number, 53 people are receiving treatment in ICUs across Ireland.
Dr Celine Gounder, a clinical assistant professor of medicine and infectious diseases at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, told CBS News that anyone experiencing symptoms should get tested as it is impossible to tell the difference between seasonal allergies and Covid.
Dr Gounder said specific symptoms such as the sniffles, a cough or a stuffy nose could all be from Covid, the flu or seasonal allergies, so people should not ignore the signs.
Various similarities can be drawn between symptoms of Covid and seasonal allergies, and with the current good weather, people could be dismissing signs of the virus.
Symptoms of Covid include:
- Fever or chills.
- Cough.
- Body aches.
- Headaches.
- Tiredness.
- Loss of taste or smell.
- Shortness of breath.
- Sore throat.
- Sneezing.
- Itchy or watery eyes.
- Runny or stuffy nose.
Meanwhile, allergy symptoms include:
- Cough.
- Headaches.
- Tiredness.
- Sore throat.
- Sneezing.
- Itchy or watery eyes.
- Runny or stuffy nose.
People are advised to take a test if they are unsure.
Stemming the spread of the virus is becoming increasingly more important as the Irish health system becomes under severe pressure.
HSE Chief Operations Officer Anne O'Connor told RTE News that the health service is "really struggling."
Speaking on Morning Ireland, she said: "Whether it's in our hospitals, our community services, our national ambulance service, we are really struggling in terms of the level of Covid across services and across our staff."
However, despite this, the Government has ruled out the reintroduction of Covid restrictions.
READ MORE: New Covid variant already in Ireland as public warned to be aware of BA2 symptoms
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