In the statement made by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of South Africa, it was reported that the first case of Eris, a sub-derivative of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, was detected in the country.
In the statement, South Africans were urged to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
Eris variant
WHO published a report on the Eris variant on August 9.
Based on the available evidence, the public health risk posed by Eris was rated as ‘globally low’, similar to the risk for other existing Covid-19 variants.
It was also noted that Eris, depending on its characteristics, could spread globally and cause an increase in cases.