WHO and US health authorities tracking new Covid-19 variant; nations on alert after breakout in Britain

MANILA (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN): The World Health Organisation (WHO) and US health authorities said Friday night that they are closely monitoring a new variant of Covid-19, although the potential impact of BA.2.86 is currently unknown.

The WHO classified the new variant as one under surveillance “due to the large number (more than 30) of spike gene mutations it carries”, it wrote in a bulletin about the pandemic late Thursday.