Just as the UK brings in new measures to tackle the spread of omicron, another variant of coronavirus has been discovered by scientists in southern France.
Known as the 'IHU' variant, twelve people so far have been identified as having the strain, including seven adults and five children.
Viruses mutate and produce different strains over time as it helps them to survive, and Covid-19 is no different - once a new variant emerges, the current vaccines might become less effective against the new strain.
But should we be worried about the new IHU and what do we know so far?
The IHU variant takes its name, unlike other variants which use the Greek alphabet, from researchers based at the IHU Mediterranee hospital in Marseille.
Initial findings have indicated the strain has 46 mutations, several more than Omicron's 37 - however a study into the variant is still to be peer-reviewed.
As reported by the Evening Standard, researchers say it is too early to speculate on how harmful the mutant strain is: "It is too early to speculate on virological, epidemiological or clinical features of this IHU variant based on these 12 cases.
"Overall, these observations show once again the unpredictability of the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants and their introduction from abroad, and they exemplify the difficulty to control such introduction and subsequent spread."
The good news? IHU has not been identified by the World Health Organisation as a 'variant of concern' and according to researchers, it is unlikely to be classified as one.
American epidemiologist Eric Feigl-Ding said to the Evening Standard: "There are scores of new variants discovered all the time, but it does not necessarily mean they will be more dangerous."
