Good Morning Britain's Doctor Amir Khan has warned viewers to not worry about the new coronavirus strain.
Yesterday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock revealed that there is a new strain of coronavirus in England as he announced new areas are to be plunged into Tier 3.
He said the new mutated variant of Covid-19 is "growing faster" than previous strains.
But on Tuesday's GMB Dr Khan advised fans of the show to not "panic" about the news of the new strain but added that people still need to "be careful".
He told: "This coronavirus has gone through a number of mutations."
Adding that he agreed with host Piers Morgan - who earlier shared that he believed there was no need to worry - Dr Khan said: "Piers is right, we don’t need to panic."
Shining more light on the bug, the GP shared with Piers and co-host Susanna Reid: "Covid like this mutates at a lot slower rate than other RA viruses.
"We have to be really really careful we don’t need to panic, why would this need to mutate?
"It is already good at spreading through droplets."
He continued: "It is very unlikely to change the way we tackle this virus we still need to do social distancing, mask-wearing, wash hands - there is nothing to say it will affect the vaccine."
A mutation is a natural process that all viruses go through - when they replicate they sometimes change a little bit. These changes are called mutations.
The virus with the new mutation is called a “variant” of the original virus.
Some viruses change fast and others more slowly.
Dr Susan Hopkins, Test and Trace and PHE Joint Medical Advisor, said experts are investigating the new strain over the next two weeks, adding that it is predominantly affecting Kent and the surrounding areas at this stage.
