Two cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant have been detected in the UK - and measures are being introduced in a bid to contain it.
The Prime Minister told a Downing Street press conference on Saturday that the new strain appears to spread “very rapidly”.
Speaking alongside England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, Boris Johnson told the nation that the strain can transmit between the double-vaccinated and may partially reduce the protection of existing vaccines.
So, what are the symptoms of Omicron?
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Scientists are working hard to dissect the new strain in a bid to better understand what the unusually high number of mutations will allow it to do, reports WalesOnline.
There are early indications, with a rapid spread in South Africa, that it makes the virus much more infectious.
The doctor who raised the alarm on the new variant has explained unusual symptoms seen in patients found to have the Omicron Variant.
Dr Angelique Coetzee spotted the variant when patients arrived at her practice in Pretoria, South Africa, with Covid symptoms that did not make sense.
She says the new variant has presented young people all with intense fatigue, and a six-year-old child with a high pulse rate.
Dr Coetzee also says symptoms didn't include a sore throat, but more of a 'scratchy' throat, and a mild headache. She says there was also no cough.
None of the patients had the loss of sense of taste or smell, which has become a common indicator of Covid.
Dr Coetzee, a GP for 33 years who also chairs South Africa’s Medical Association, said: “Their symptoms were so different and so mild from those I had treated before."
Dr Coetzee raised the alarm on November 18 when four members of the same family all tested positive for Covid - and all were suffering with exhaustion.
She says most of the patients she has so far seen are healthy men who are “feeling so tired".
Anyone who has any symptoms associated with Covid-19 - cough, fever, loss of sense of taste or smell should take a lateral flow test.
If you feel unwell you can contact your GP or call NHS 111, as well as going online, to get advice on the best course of action.
All contacts with a suspected case of the new variant will have to isolate for 10 days, regardless of their vaccination status.
