A new Covid variant, dubbed Arcturus, has been found in the UK amid growing concern about its rapid spread.
A recent surge in cases in India has forced parts of the country to bring back compulsory face mask rules.
The Omicron sub-variant XBB.1.16 - which was first identified on January 23 this year - has caught the attention of experts around the world. Arcturus has been detected in at least 22 countries so far.
It has been classified as a ‘variant of interest’ by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
The World Health Organisation's (WHO) technical lead for Covid response Maria Van Kerkhove said: "This is one to watch. We're monitoring it because it has potential changes that we need to keep a good eye out on."
According to the latest data from Ireland’s Health Protection Surveillance Centre, no cases of the variant have been confirmed here.
Today, the UK’s Health Security Agency has confirmed that it is present in the country and there are currently under 100 confirmed cases.
In publicly available documents, the UKHSA said that it had been detected in the UK in the past 12 weeks.
It comes after a recent spike in India, which saw confirmed case numbers of the variant rise by 3,122 in a single day.
India's health ministry launched mock drills this week in an attempt to see if hospitals were prepared to deal with a possible influx of patients.
Wearing face coverings in public has been made compulsory again in some states for the first time in more than a year.
One example is India's southern state of Kerela where Health Minister Veena George reintroduced masks for the elderly, pregnant women, and those with underlying conditions.
Officials are now urging states to increase testing for the virus.
Meanwhile in Ireland, there were 682 new confirmed cases of Covid in Ireland reported between April 2 and April 8. The HPSC says this is a decrease of 40.7% compared to the previous week. The Easter bank holiday weekend may have impacted reporting.
The highest number of new confirmed cases involves the 75 - 84 age group.
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