Fears have been raised that a new Covid strain responsible for an increase in infections in India may also increase the number of cases in the UK.
According to research, Arcturus may be 1.2 times more infectious than the last main subvariant.
The strain, also known as Omicron subvariant XBB.1.16, was discovered in January and has been under World Health Organization (WHO) surveillance since 22 March.
Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the technical lead for Covid at the WHO, commented on Arcturus's appearance at a news conference on March 29. "It's been around for a while.
"Despite having these systems in place, we haven't noticed a shift in the severity of the problem in either individuals or populations.
There is one more mutation in the spike protein that, according to laboratory tests, could boost both pathogenicity and infectivity.
The sub-variant, one of 600 that have emerged from Omicron so far, has been found in 22 nations so far, including the US and the UK, although it doesn't appear to be any more deadly than others.
The health ministry of India recorded 40,215 active Covid cases on April 12, an increase of 3,122 in only one day.
This led to the introduction of mandatory face masks in some states, mock drills in hospitals, and an increase in vaccine production.
According to WHO estimations, the Delta wave struck India in 2021 and caused a total of 4.7 million more deaths.
The Daily Mail reports that there have been 50 cases found in the UK so far, but Professor Paul Hunter of the University of East Anglia told the publication it was too early to predict that Britain would experience a new wave of illnesses brought on by Arcturus.
I believe we will experience a wave of infections caused by this variation, but I doubt it will be as large as the one we recently experienced in the UK.
As a result, I believe it won't place as much of a strain on the healthcare system.
The Kraken strain of Covid, also known as XBB.1.5, which predominated in Britain until February, was the subject of the professor's allusion.