New Covid variant Ireland

Earlier this month, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control classified two sub-lineages of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 as variants of ...

Your contributions will help us continue to deliver the stories that are important to you Dr Holohan also said that there “continues to be a significant number of cases of hospital-acquired infection”, though the numbers are decreasing steadily. Dr Tony Holohan said: “In the context of the international situation in relation to these variants, it should be noted that, as of week 18 2022 (May 7), two cases of BA.4 and no cases of BA.5 have been identified in Ireland.” The Covid-19 burden on acute hospital care remains “significant”, Dr Holohan said, but has “substantially reduced” from a recent peak of more than 1,600 cases in hospital in late March, to 235 as of May 13. Your contributions will help us continue to deliver the stories that are important to you In the chief medical officer’s latest weekly report on Covid-19 to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly, he says that two cases of BA.4 have been identified as of the week beginning 7 May.

Two cases of BA.4, a sublineage of Omicron, were detected here earlier this month.

“The strength we have here is there is a very high level of vaccination. In Portugal, the two strains have been linked to a recent resurgence of cases there. BA.4 and BA.5 were designated variants of concern by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) earlier this month. However, there is no indication they are any more severe than previous Omicron lineages. The first cases of a new Covid-19 variant of concern have been detected in the Republic. The first cases of a new Covid-19 variant of concern have been detected in the Republic. File photograph: NEXU Science Communication/via Reuters

Two cases of a new sub-variant of Covid-19 of concern were confirmed in Ireland earlier this month, according to the latest report from Chief Medical ...

“We continue to closely monitor emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants and assess any potential threat to population health. He added that “anyone who wishes to wear a mask should not be discouraged from doing so” and people who are vulnerable to COVID-19 are “further advised to be aware of the risk associated with activities they may choose to engage in and to take measures to optimally protect themselves.” He also advised that many people who were infected with COVID-19 over the Christmas period will now be eligible for a first booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine while those over 65 are now eligible for their second Covid-19 booster jab. More than half or 52pc of Covid-19 patients were in hospital as a result of the virus which was the main reason for admission to ICU for half of all ICU patients who tested positive for the virus as of May 10. However he cautioned that the proportion of both sub-strains within Europe is “currently very low” with the exception of Portugal and Austria. However, he noted it is still a cause for concern and “although the ECDC has advised that, given the signals of increased growth rate, it is possible that one or both of these sub-lineages may cause increased SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the near future in EU/EEA countries.” Both sub-strains have been linked to a resurgence of cases in Portugal while in the UK 115 cases of BA.4 and 80 cases of BA.5 have been detected there.

FEARS of a fifth Covid wave are rising after the first case of a new Covid "variant of concern" has been detected in Ireland.The new Covid variants BA.

We don’t have certainty as to how it will evolve." FEARS of a fifth Covid wave are rising after the first case of a new Covid "variant of concern" has been detected in Ireland. But epidemiologist Dr Van Kerkhove said that the new strains BA.4 and BA.5 are even more transmissible than BA.2, the dominant strain of Covid-19 in Ireland and globally. And the first case of the BA.4 variant has been identified in Ireland. This quickly prompted fears of a new wave as cases spike in the coming weeks. Fears rise over FIFTH Covid wave after first case of new ‘variant of concern’ detected in Ireland

Two cases of BA.4, a sub-lineages of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, were detected earlier this month, reported the outgoing chief medical officer, Dr Tony ...

Dr Holohan also said that there ‘continues to be a significant number of cases of hospital-acquired infection’, though the numbers are decreasing steadily. The letter, dated May 13, also says that the five-day rolling average of daily PCR-confirmed cases is 610 as of May 12, a 16% decrease from the 729 cases reported on May 5. Two cases of a newly classified COVID-19 variant of concern have been found in Ireland.

BA.4 is a sub-lineage of Omicron, which is currently the most dominant strain in Ireland. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) ...

"Taken together, this indicates that the presence of these variants could cause a significant overall increase in Covid cases in the EU/EEA in the coming weeks and months," the ECDC warned. "The overall proportion of BA.4 and BA.5 in the EU/EEA is currently low but the high growth advantages reported suggest that these variants will become dominant in the EU/EEA in the coming months. Experts say the new variants could cause "a significant overall increase in Covid cases in the EU". There is currently no sign that the BA.4/BA.5 variants are any more severe compared to previous Omicron lineages. "The currently observed growth advantage for BA.4 and BA.5 is likely due to their ability to evade immune protection induced by prior infection and/or vaccination, particularly if this has waned over time," said the ECDC. Two cases of a new Covid variant that has the potential to become the dominant strain have been detected in Ireland.

The UK had already registered 115 probable or confirmed cases of the BA.4 sub-strand as of May 20.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said the variants could lead to a significant rise in cases of Covid-19 in the EU in the coming weeks and months. A further 80 cases of BA.5 were identified, with 48 in England, 25 in Scotland, six in Northern Ireland and one in Wales. As of May 20, the UK had recorded 115 cases of probable or confirmed BA.4, with 67 in England, 41 in Scotland, six in Wales and one in Northern Ireland.

Two cases of BA.4, a sublineage of Omicron, were detected here earlier this month.

“The strength we have here is there is a very high level of vaccination. In Portugal, the two strains have been linked to a recent resurgence of cases there. BA.4 and BA.5 were designated variants of concern by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) earlier this month. However, there is no indication they are any more severe than previous Omicron lineages. The first cases of a new Covid-19 variant of concern have been detected in the Republic. The first cases of a new Covid-19 variant of concern have been detected in the Republic. File photograph: NEXU Science Communication/via Reuters

According to Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan, two cases of BA.4, a subvariant of the Omicron strain, were detected earlier this month.

In Portugal, the two strains have been linked to a recent resurgence of cases there. In the UK, 115 cases of BA.4 and 80 cases of BA.5 have been detected. We don’t have certainty as to how it will evolve.” BA.4 and BA.5 were first detected in South Africa in January and February 2022, respectively, and since then they have become the dominant variants there The new strains were first discovered in South Africa at the beginning of this year and since have become dominant there. But epidemiologist Dr Van Kerkhove added that the new Omicron strains BA.4 and BA.5 are even more transmissible than BA.2, the dominant strain of Covid-19 in Ireland and globally.

Two cases of a new sub-variant of Covid-19 of concern were confirmed in Ireland earlier this month, according to the latest report from Chief Medical ...

“We continue to closely monitor emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants and assess any potential threat to population health. The CMO also advised that many people who were infected with Covid-19 over the Christmas period will now be eligible for a first booster dose of Covid-19 vaccine while those over 65 are now eligible for their second Covid-19 booster jab. Dr Holohan added that “anyone who wishes to wear a mask should not be discouraged from doing so” and people who are vulnerable to Covid-19 are “further advised to be aware of the risk associated with activities they may choose to engage in and to take measures to optimally protect themselves”. The latest figures, from May 18, show that 7,244 people have died from Covid-19 in Ireland since the start of the pandemic. On that day 980 cases of the virus were detected, while there were 379 Covid-19 patients in Irish hospitals, including 39 in ICU. The test-positivity rate for the week ending April 30 was 15.5pc. On April 29 the Department of Health stopped releasing daily Covid-19 case figures for the first time since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.

According to Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan, two cases of BA.4, a subvariant of the Omicron strain, were detected earlier this month.

We don’t have certainty as to how it will evolve.” The UK has also reported an increase in cases of the new variants with 115 cases of BA.4 and 80 cases of BA.5. The new strains were first discovered in South Africa at the beginning of this year and since have become dominant there. Dr Van Kerkhove said there could be more Omicron mutations in the future “as the virus evolves” and said the force of potential new waves in countries like Ireland, which had large Omicron BA.2 waves, remained unknown. But epidemiologist Dr Van Kerkhove added that the new Omicron strains BA.4 and BA.5 are even more transmissible than BA.2, the dominant strain of Covid-19 in Ireland and globally. The new variants BA.4 and BA.5 were designated as variants of concern by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) earlier this month.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control reclassified two sub-lineages of the Omicron variant from variants of interest to variants of concern ...

It is difficult to predict. It has always been difficult to predict where we’re going with this pandemic.” “If you look at the countries that have had it, there is maybe a small increase in cases, but the cases have come down significantly now in Ireland in the last few weeks and months so there is less people that are infected and therefore less people to spread from,” he said. He said the fact BA.4 is now dominant in south Africa and Portugal means it is more transmissible than Omicron – but there’s nothing to suggest it is more severe. “It arose there in January and it spread to Europe. It is already the dominant variant in Portugal and in the UK, they have a significant number of cases, so it was inevitable it was going to come here. “It was to be expected that we were to get this variant as it is the dominant variant now in South Africa,” he said.

BA.4 and BA.5 were identified by the ECDC as variants of concern earlier this month.

Many people more at risk of severe illness have also received another booster since then. Another factor is that South Africa and Portugal didn’t have as pronounced a BA.2 wave as Ireland did, and BA.2 is more similar to the new variants of concern than BA.1. They first emerged in January and February of this year. There is some evidence to suggest that not only is there an increased chance of immune escape, but the sublineages are also more transmissible. There is currently no evidence that BA.4 and BA.5 cause more severe illness than previous Omicron sublineages (that data takes time to gather), although it still has the potential to be a debilitating and potentially fatal illness. The sublineages are believed to be responsible for a renewed wave of infection in South Africa which started in early May. The data currently indicates that this is less severe than its previous record-breaking Omicron wave, and there are even signs it is slowing.