The highly infectious strain of coronavirus that emerged in South Africa has been classed as a ‘variant of concern’ by the World Health Organisation.

The WHO warned that preliminary evidence suggests the variant has an increased risk of reinfection and may spread more rapidly than other strains.

The mutation, previously referred to as B.1.1.529, has been named after the Greek letter Omicron.

The WHO said that the variant ‘has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning’.

The variant was first reported to WHO from South Africa on Wednesday.

It has also been identified in Botswana, Belgium, Hong Kong and Israel.

The WHO says it will take a few weeks to understand the impact of the new variant.

Although there have been no cases in the UK yet, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said earlier there is ‘huge international concern’ over the strain.

The UK Governent has added South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Namibia to the travel red list to limit its spread.

But ministers are facing calls to go further to prevent a wave of Omicron arriving in Britain while a Delta surge is ongoing, as Belgium became the first EU country to announce a case.

This is a breaking news story, more to follow soon… Check back shortly for further updates.

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