A new strain of the coronavirus has been discovered in Cyprus according to reports.
Known as Deltacron, the new variant is believed to be a combination of the Delta and Omicron variants.
As reported by YorkshireLive, the announcement was made by University of Cyprus professor, Leondios Kostrikis.
He had sent his findings to GISAID, which is an international database tracking viruses.
According to Bloomberg the potency of the new strain is not yet known but out of the 25 samples, 11 of those were taken from people who had been admitted to hospital.
A further 14 were taken from the general public.
Professor Kostrikis said: "We will see in the future if this strain is more pathological or more contagious or if it will prevail."
While 25 cases have been discovered, experts have warned it is still too early to assess the potential new strain.
In the UK, Omicron cases have surged and already make up 365,376 of the country's total since its discovery last month, UK Government figures show.
A further 274,470 cases were reported in the Government's latest data release on January 7 - the previous report was on December 23.
Some experts have claimed the rapid spread of the new strain may begin to slow as some areas, such as London, may have already hit the peak of infections.
While cases may have peaked in some areas, or be approaching peak levels, there is concern over the continuing high rates of hospitalisations.
On January 3, 2,434 people were admitted to hospital with Covid across the UK.
While numbers continue to rise, close to 36,000 NHS staff were off sick due to Covid in the week ending January 2.
Last week, several trusts were forced to declare critical incidents due to staff shortages.
Professor David Spiegelhalter, a statistician from the University of Cambridge said cases were dropping among younger people.
He told the BBC: "We would have expected to see that by now in London and elsewhere, so that is the really reassuring thing.
"I think we can guarantee that over this wave what we're not going to see is a big surge in very severe outcomes."
