The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said on Friday the first case of COVID-19 variant BA.2.86 had been detected in the country in an individual with no recent travel history.
The World Health Organisation and the US health authorities had on Thursday, said they were closely monitoring a new variant of Covid-19, although the potential impact of BA.2.86 is currently unknown.
WHO designated the COVID-19 variant BA.2.86 as a ‘variant under monitoring’ due to the large number of mutations it carries.
The variant has also been identified in Israel, Denmark and the United States.
