The Latest Breaking News on COVID-19

While it is usually a mild illness, treatment is still advised and you should speak to a GP if you think you or a child may have it

New ‘kraken’ mutation of the COVID-19 virus is most contagious subvariant yet

The Department of Health encourages getting vaccinated to help to protect the health service at a time when hospitals are under extreme pressure

Medical experts say the new COVID-19 mutation dubbed “kraken” is the most contagious subvariant of the virus to emerge since the pandemic began — and it’s becoming the dominant strain in the United States.

Figures had been on an upwards trend since late November.

A mutated version of the Omicron variant is sweeping across China, the USA, and now, cases have been identified in the UK

For some COVID-19 patients, the initial illness isn't nearly as bad as the persistent and sometimes disabling symptoms that linger for months or years afterward. These are the people with long COVID, a complex chronic illness that can afflict without regard for age, sex, vaccination status or medical history.

Scores of mainland Chinese travellers are rushing to Hong Kong to receive mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, which are not available on the Chinese mainland, as the country grapples with a torrent of infections which have overwhelmed its health system.

There's a reason the sub-variant was named after a mythological creature

The current dominant variants, BQ.1 and its sub-lineages, could be overtaken by different Omicron strains.

Most symptoms from long Covid clear up within a year for people who had mild initial infections, a large Israel study said Thursday, with the findings welcomed as "reassuring". At least 17 million people in Europe suffered from long Covid symptoms months after recovering from their initial infection during 2020…