The World Health Organisation (WHO) has released an update on Deltacron, which has officially been categorised as a Covid-19 variant.
Cases of the strain — which is a combination of Delta and Omicron — were discovered in the US, France, Denmark, and the Netherlands.
Earlier this week, scientists at L'Institut Pasteur in Paris shared the full genomic sequence of the variant with international Covid database GSAID.
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As reported by the Daily Record, the WHO is 'tracking and discussing the variant' amid ongoing research.
Covid technical lead at the WHO Maria van Kerkhove stated that the mutation was "to be expected, especially with intense circulation of Omicron & Delta".
A group of cases have been discovered in France, and the variant was also confirmed to be in the Netherlands and Denmark at a WHO briefing on Wednesday.
In February, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) shared that one case of the variant had been discovered in the UK.
The news follows warnings from the head of the agency that the pandemic is "not over".
Professor of evolution and genomics at the University of Oxford Aris Katzourakis said: "It is one to keep an eye on. This one is legit."
Virologist at the University of Leeds Dr Stephen Griffin said: "Whilst it doesn't seem to have taken off as a dominant strain yet, this could be due to a very slow start based upon seeding density - the number of initial cases.
"There are multiple scenarios that can play out here in terms of what this means for people that become infected as this combination of viral proteins may behave differently to either parent.
"The French cluster appears to be a validated occurrence where a recombination event has given rise to a virus fit enough to circulate."
According to the ZOE Covid Symptom Study, approximately 175,000 people are catching Covid every day — a rise of 20% in a single week.
Study co-founder Professor Tim Spector said: "The major increase in new cases across the country and in the elderly is a worry, especially as we now see an uptick in hospitalisations for the first time.
"This increase was predicted when all restrictions were lifted.
"We are likely to continue to see high infection and prevalence rates of one in 30 people for the foreseeable future."
There are also concerns over the spread of BA.2 coronavirus - known as stealth Covid.
Dr Jenny Harries, head of the UKHSA, said: "The increasing presence of the BA.2 sub-lineage of Omicron and the recent slight increase in infections in those over 55 show that the pandemic is not over and that we can expect to see Covid circulating at high levels."
