New Covid Arcturus variant causing surge of coronavirus cases in India detected in UK

A new Covid variant which has been the 'driving force' of new cases in India has been found in the UK. Dubbed Arcturus but also known as XBB.1.16, it is a strain of the Omicron subvariant of the virus.

It has reportedly caused a surge of infections in India, forcing the country to bring back some of its face mask laws and run drills in its hospitals. Now, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has confirmed that it is present in the UK, but that there are under 100 cases.

In India, it is understood the strain is quickly becoming the driving variant, and the country's health ministry even went as far as to launch mock drills this week in an attempt to see if hospitals were prepared to deal with a possible influx of patients, reports the Mirror.

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For the first time in a year, wearing face coverings in public has been made compulsory again in some states. Figures from Our World in Data, run by Oxford University, show how cases have spiked in India in recent months.

In India's southern state of Kerela, Health Minister Veena George reintroduced masks for the elderly, pregnant women, and those with underlying conditions. This week, case numbers throughout India rose by 3,122 in a single day, but India's severe reaction has been partly informed by a devastating second wave the country suffered - and a desire from politicians to avoid a repeat.

In a press conference, Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organisation's technical lead for COVID-19 response, said: "Omicron is the variant of concern that remains dominant worldwide and there's still more than 600 sublineages in circulation. One of the variants that we are looking at, is the variant that we have