Kuwait detects EG.5 COVID variant

Kuwait’s Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday that it had detected the new COVID-19 omicron variant, EG.5, belonging to a subset of the virus, considering its presence in around 50 countries.

The ministry added that the identification of the variant was in line with expectations and not a cause for alarm, renewing the call to adhere to prevention guidelines for health practitioners and pioneers of therapeutic health institutions.

Health experts say EG.5 does not cause more severe illness and is associated with similar symptoms as the XBB variants. Those symptoms include a cough, sore throat, runny nose, fatigue, headache, muscle aches, and an altered sense of smell.