A new COVID-19 variant is gaining the interest of the World Health Organization (WHO), after a spike of recorded cases in some US states, China and the UK.
The EG.5 and EG.5.1, nicknamed “Eris”, are descendants of Omicron, which was first detected in South Africa in late-2021.
Most reported cases are in China (30.6%), followed by the US (18.4%), South Korea (14.1%) and Japan (11.1%), with one is seven confirmed cases in the UK being Eris.
The WHO stated that the variant does not pose a particular threat exceeding its predecessors in severity, but that its quick spread is the concerning part, as most fear yet another large-scale outbreak.
“Based on the available evidence, the public health risk posed by EG.5 is evaluated as low at the global level,” said the WHO.
“While EG.5 has shown increased prevalence, growth advantage, and immune escape properties, there have been no reported changes in disease severity to date,” the WHO concluded.
In Morocco, COVID-19 reports have become more space, with the latest dating back to August 4. In that week, Morocco recorded 24 new cases and 0 deaths with a weekly positivity rate of 5.3% and a case fatality rate 1.3%, but the variant of the positive cases was not mentioned.
The spread of the new variant however remains highly likely in Morocco, due to tourists flocking the Kingdom this summer season.
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