The new BA.2 variant of Covid-19 is already in Ireland with more than 500 confirmed cases.
It comes after Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan issued an ominous warning last month that the latest strain “may be dominant by the last week in February”.
Following NPHET’s last meeting on February 17, during which it was recommended the team be stood down, Dr Holohan flagged his concerns about new variants - and in particular, BA.2 sub-strain of the Omicron variant.
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On that date, 78 cases of BA.2 were found in Ireland. Dr Holohan wrote: “In total, approximately 60% of current infections are S-gene target negative, suggesting approximately 40% of current infections are BA.2.
“This is growing at 9.7% (7.5-12%) per day and may be dominant by the last week in February 2022.”
According to the latest HPSC data, as of February 28, 548 cases of BA.2 have been confirmed in Ireland.
Concerns have been raised about the BA.2 variant, also known as stealth omicron, as it is said to be one of the most infectious diseases the world has ever seen.
Former World Health Organisation scientist Professor Adrian Esterman wrote on Twitter: “Omicron BA.2 is about 1.4 times more infectious than BA.1. The basic reproduction number (R0) for BA.1 is about 8.2, making R0 for BA.2 about 12.
“This makes it pretty close to measles, the most contagious disease we know about.”
On Tuesday, the HSE updated its latest Covid case tally count to show that there have been close to 90,000 new cases of Covid confirmed in Ireland since St Patrick’s Day.
Yesterday, 23,702 new Covid cases were confirmed through 7,729 PCR tests and 15,973 antigen tests. There were 1,338 people in hospital with Covid, of which 61 were in ICU.
The public is being reminded of Covid symptoms, and how BA.2 can differ.
According to immunologist Prof Luke O’Neill BA.2 symptoms can manifest more quickly - usually in two days compared to four - but can be less severe and disappear sooner.
Dizziness and fatigue are among the commonly reported symptoms of BA.2, according to the ZOE Covid Study.
“One in 20 new cases had this variant last week, and as it's doubling every few days this should predominate within a month," said lead scientist Professor Tim Spector.
"The ZOE data has also seen more confirmed reinfections in recent weeks with around 7% of new symptomatic cases having previously tested positive, suggesting a natural infection with Delta may not offer much protection."
Other symptoms of BA. 2 include a runny nose and a headache, so if you're not sure what's causing it, you should be cautious.
According to the HSE, the most common symptoms of Covid are: fever (high temperature - 38C or above) - including having chills, dry cough and fatigue (tiredness).
The HSE say anyone with symptoms of Covid, even mild ones, is advised to self-isolate (stay in your room) until 48 hours after your symptoms are mostly or fully gone and wear a face mask if you have to be around other people.
READ MORE: Surge in Covid cases likely down to new variant after ominous Tony Holohan warning
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