A new heavily mutated Covid variant is causing global alarm. Since its detection in several tests in South Africa, Belgium has confirmed a case.in a traveller who returned from Egypt on November 11 which is seeing the EU and United Kingdom among other countries restrict travel from Southern Africa.
The World Health Organization has assigned the Greek letter Omicron to the variant, previously known as B.1.1.529. It has been described as the most significant variant to date. The WHO have been meeting under urgency amidst global alarm. The variant has been identified and sequenced in record time.
Our regular commentator, Cambridge University consultant clinical virologist Dr Chris Smith joins us to discuss.
