Ireland’s health officials reported over 12,000 new Covid cases on Wednesday.
The 12,508 confirmed cases are made up of 5,381 positive PCR tests and 7,127 positive antigen tests registered through the HSE’s portal.
There are currently 1,610 people in Ireland’s hospitals with Covid, of which 49 are in ICU.
READ MORE: Expert warns lingering 'Covid cough' may be sign of something more deadly
It’s believed that the current Covid surge is being driven by the highly transmissible BA.2 variant.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly yesterday warned that the true number of cases is likely much higher than what is being registered.
"The sub variant that we’re dealing with now, the BA.2 variant, is very, very contagious and the kind of measures you would need to radically reduce the spread would be really quite serious measures indeed.
“If we’re registering 10,000 to 15,000 cases a day through PCR and antigen tests, you can be sure the actual numbers are several times that much.
“We are most likely looking at several hundred thousand new Covid cases per week at the moment, which is a very high number,” he said.
With this in mind, the public is being reminded of typical Covid symptoms and some less common signs.
The HSE lists the most common symptoms as fever, dry cough and fatigue, saying they can seem similar to a cold, flu or hay fever.
However, there is also a long list of some less common Covid symptoms, including nausea, diarrhoea and skin rashes.
Here’s the full HSE list of less common Covid symptoms:
- Loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this could mean they're completely gone or just different to 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
The HSE say: “You may not have all of the symptoms or your symptoms may be mild.
“You can still get infected if you are fully vaccinated. But your symptoms may be mild.
“It can take up to 14 days after you are infected for symptoms to show. You can spread Covid during this time.”
The current advice for anyone with symptoms of Covid is to self-isolate until 48 hours after symptoms are mostly or fully gone, and to wear a face mask if you have to be around other people.
READ MORE: GP explains why everyone is getting ill at the moment with Covid-like symptoms but testing negative
READ MORE: Full lockdown only way to suppress Ireland's Covid spike but Stephen Donnelly rules out restrictions
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