A year ago, Omicron was making waves across the country as ministers made masks compulsory again in shops and on public transport to try and stop Christmas being ruined by another lockdown.
December 25 was able to go ahead without restrictions on family gatherings in the end and, since then, coronavirus has diluted in terms of the amount of press attention it gets and the numbers of people infected has decreased.
But Omicron mutations are back and thought to be behind an uptick in Covid-19 cases in recent months — although levels are well below what Britain experienced last winter and even in the summer months just gone.
One of the variants being kept closely monitored by scientists in the UK and worldwide is BQ.1.
What is Covid variant BQ.1?
Recent rises in Covid infections are thought to have been driven by the variant BQ.1.
Both BQ.1 and XBB mutations are believed to have played a part in infections going up in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
More than 700 cases of the new Covid strains have been identified, with both being descendants of Omicron, the current dominant strain.
BQ.1 stems from BA.5, the Omicron type that fuelled a summer resurgence of infections.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said both BQ.1 and XBB are being monitored for their potential to spread rapidly.
However, neither have been designated variants of concern, meaning it is not currently feared that they could herald a huge spike in cases.
BQ.1 is being monitored because of its “rapid growth”.
The UKHSA said there is a potential for it and mutations like it to cause a “further increase in transmission” of the virus in the near future.
Dr Meera Chand, UKHSA director of clinical and emerging infection, said: “It is not unexpected to see new variants emerge.
“Neither BQ.1 nor XBB have been designated as variants of concern and UKHSA is monitoring the situation closely, as always.
“Vaccination remains our best defence against future Covid-19 waves, so it is still as important as ever that people come take up all the doses for which they are eligible as soon as possible.”
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) population survey, numbers in England have started to level off, in what is being read as a positive development.
How is BQ.1 different from past variants?
There is concern that the BQ.1 strain could have adaptations that make it easier to evade vaccine-boosted immune systems.
It means even those who have had winter Covid boosters could still become ill with BQ.1.
However, from the case studies scientists have, it is not thought to cause severe illness in those who have had vaccinations.
The World Health Organisation said: “Based on currently available knowledge, protection by vaccines [both original and boosters] against infection may be reduced but no major impact on protection against severe disease is foreseen.”
The symptoms are said to be similar to past variants, with a dry cough, headaches, runny nose and loss of taste tell-tale signs of a Covid infection in general.
Covid cases in the UK
Covid cases have seen an uptick in recent weeks, thought to have been driven by variants such as BQ.1 and also from the increased time people are spending indoors in the colder weather.
The total number of people in private households in the UK testing positive for coronavirus stood at 2.05 million in the week to October 17.
That was broadly unchanged on 2.01 million in the previous week, according to ONS' regular study.
Those figures are some way below the peak of nearly 4 million reached in early July, during the wave caused by the Omicron BA.4/BA.5 subvariants of the virus.
The rate of increase in UK-wide infections has slowed recently, with the latest total up just 2% on the previous week.
The ONS infection survey is the most reliable measure of the prevalence of coronavirus and is based on a sample of swab tests from households across the UK.
But there is a lag in the reporting of the data, due to the time it takes for the survey to be compiled.
More recent figures show the number of people in hospital in England with Covid-19 has started to fall.
Patient numbers had been rising since mid-September, but this trend looks to have come to a halt, with the total now having fallen for nine days in a row, as of October 28.
