Experts are urging people in the UK to wear face masks while out in public as the new Covid variant Arcturus spreads.
The super-infectious strain, officially named XBB.1.16, is currently spreading across more than 30 countries in the world, including the US and UK. It has become a "variant of interest" (VOI), according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
In the UK - as of April 17 2023 - there were 135 cases of the new Covid strain, with 120 in England, eight in Wales, five in Scotland, and two in Northern Ireland.
Now Professor Stephen Griffin, chair of Independent SAGE, said people in the UK should wear masks on public transport and go back to regular testing, The Mirror reports.
He told MailOnline : “This may seem like a throwback to last year, but the reality is the virus continues to do harm and those least able to cope continue to suffer.
“In the absence of population-scale mitigations... the focus remains upon individual risk which is, for many, now much lower.
"If [the] Government won’t act to enable everyone to 'live' with Covid, vulnerable people will continue to require precautions and, ideally, others will act with an appropriate level of altruism."
The subvariant has been spreading across the globe, causing mask laws to be reintroduced in India, as five Brits have died with it.
Arcturus contains a mutated spike protein that may make it more infectious with characteristics that means it is slightly different to the variants and sub-variants we have experienced before.
XBB.1.16 emerged from two previous potent strains of Omicron , BA.1 and BA.2, which posed serious issues for the UK. Scientists flagged the new strain's "advantage" early on, with UKHSA first monitoring it on March 6.
Arcturus Covid symptoms
The symptoms of Arcturus appear to be the same as other current strains of Covid.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - the list includes mild and severe symptoms, although the list does not include all the possible symptoms:
- Fever
- Body chills
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Fatigue
- Muscle or body aches
- Headache
- New loss of taste or smell
- Congestion or runny nose
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhoea
- Pink eye
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