Within just days of being identified, the new variant was today named Omicron, and detected for the first time in Europe with Belgium confirming one case.
There are concerns it may be more transmissible, better able to evade vaccines, and less likely to respond to a key treatment.
These potential concerns will take weeks to be tested and there is no indication that the virus is more deadly, or that it has gained a foothold in the UK. But even without the new variant, Covid numbers remain high in the UK.
