Two new Omicron sub-variants are causing concern among experts, who say that they are leading to a worrying rise in cases - with one-in-21 Brits thought to be infected. Experts have warned that the country is already going through its fifth Covid wave, with BA.4 and BA.5 triggering a rise in infections in the UK.
But what are the BA.4 and BA.5 variants and how infectious are they? Covid cases have risen quite significantly in recent weeks following a huge surge after the Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend where cases skyrocketed by 43 per cent.
Healthcare workers have already expressed concern that another big wave will pose significant challenges for an NHS that's already struggling. The two new strains were found in South Africa in January and February this year and are considered to essentially be the grandchildren of the Omicron variant that hit the UK and spread across the world at the end of 2021, as seen in The Mirror.
