Covid: Everything you need to know about the new FLiRT variant

NationalWorld.com

Cases of Covid have been increasing in the UK this summer due to the new FLiRT variant, here's everything you need to know about cases, signs, symptoms and what the rules are.

Transcript

00:00Hi, I'm Sarah McCann, Vertical Specialist Writer here for National World Publications

00:06and today we are going to be talking about the new COVID variant. Fears have been growing

00:12as there has been an increased rate of COVID infections happening this summer due to a

00:17collective group of COVID variants named FLIRT. In June, there was a small rise of COVID infections

00:26relating to hospital admissions, rising from 2.67% per 100,000 people to 3.31% per 100,000 people.

00:35Whilst this increase seems quite small, we don't really know how many people have COVID

00:40as we no longer collect data. This means that many cases of COVID may not be being reported.

00:50The new group of COVID variants are collectively known as FLIRT. Despite the name,

00:55they have been driving cases recently with the three most common variants including JN1, KP2 and KP3.

01:05UK HSA have said that there is no change to public policy despite the increase in cases

01:12and that COVID symptoms remain the same despite the different variants. The symptoms for COVID

01:19are still a fever or temperature, a new continuous cough, loss or change to your taste and smell,

01:28sore throat, blocked running nose, fatigue, aching body and also gastrointestinal symptoms including

01:36nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea. The days of COVID lockdowns are over and you do not have

01:44any legal restrictions to self-isolate if you test positive for COVID. However, governments do

01:50advise that if you test positive it's important that you avoid people for five days just to prevent

01:57passing on COVID to someone else within your community. You can still buy COVID lateral

02:03flow tests in pharmacies, chemists or supermarkets. The summer COVID vaccination scheme was available

02:09to anyone over the age of 75 with a weakened immune system or adults who lived in care homes.

02:14This scheme ended on June 30th. To learn more to find out about signs and symptoms

02:19and future vaccination schemes for COVID be sure to check out nhs.co.uk

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