A variant of Covid-19, which has raised some concerns in South Africa, has not been detected in Ireland, according to the Director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory.
Dr Cillian De Gascun said the variant - designated C.1.2 - is worth monitoring with a view to escalating it to a Variant of Interest (VOI), or Variant of Concern (VOC), should more be learned about it in relation to transmissibility, disease severity, or vaccine effectiveness.
He said that Ireland's regular surveillance programme will detect it should it arrive on the island. The World Health Organization has not designated C.1.2 as a VOI or VOC.