Irish people warned over new more contagious COVID strain with unusual symptoms

COVID cases have been increasing across the world recently and now Irish people have been issued advice regarding a new more contagious strain which has been confirmed to be in the country, NB.1.8.1. 

NB.1.8.1 is a new variant which is part of the Omicron family and is believed to be more contagious in comparison to some previous strains of COVID. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently reported that this new variant accounted for 10.7% of global cases by the end of May.

The WHO assured that it posed no increased risk to public health. However, it does come with some more unusual symptoms in comparison to other COVID strains. 

People with NB.1.8.1 can expect typical COVID symptoms such as a sore throat, fatigue, fever, mild cough, muscle aches or nasal congestion. In addition to these, people could experience gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, bloating, heartburn, constipation or abdominal pain. 

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With numbers of the cases rising in Ireland, the HSE have advised people who are unwell to stay at home until 48 hours after their symptoms are mostly or fully gone. They have also urged people to avoid contact with others while they are sick. 

To keep themselves feeling well, they have advised people to get lots of rest and sleep, drink plenty of water and eat healthily, avoid smoking, and to keep warm. 

In terms of when it is safe for people to return to work, the HSE has said people can return when they are 48 hours without symptoms. They added: "If you have a positive COVID-19 test, you must wait for 5 days and feel well. You should not have a high temperature."

For children in school, they said they can return when they feel well and no longer have a high temperature. "If they had a positive COVID-19 test, they should stay home and avoid contact with others for 3 full days after they took the test or from the day their symptoms started (whichever was earliest)."