New Covid variant Arcturus - symptoms, vaccine efficacy, UK cases and what else we know so far

A new variant of coronavirus which was behind a surge of infections in India has been linked to 50 cases in the UK.

Named Arcturus and also known as XBB.1.16, the strain is the most recent Omicron sub-variant. It was first discovered in January, and could potentially be 1.2 times more infectious than previous sub-variants, reports the Daily Record.

Although the new variant has not resulted in any deaths, the World Health Organisation has confirmed it's been identified in 22 countries so far, including the UK, USA, Australia and Singapore. An outbreak of Arcturus in India has resulted in the reintroduction of face masks in public places within some states.

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Data from variant trackers indicates that the UK has sequenced nearly 50 samples of Arcturus. Maria Van Kerkhove who is an infectious disease epidemiologist from the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that the variant is 'one to watch' and says the situation is being monitored.

Dr Connor Bamford from the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine at Queen's University Belfast spoke to BelfastLive and explained what is known so far about the new variant, including its symptoms and the potential impact of booster jabs against the strain.

Dr Bamford said: "Arcturus is a name that some people have given to the last variant of SARS-CoV-2 (that causes Covid). The scientific name is XBB.1.16 and it is a mix of two Omicron variants that were previously circulating."

According to the expert, symptoms are "likely mostly similar to before with most people exhibiting mild cold-like symptoms but with the capacity to cause severe lung infection in vulnerable people". He added: "There is also