New Covid-19 Variant Deltacron Found In Cyprus

A scientist in Cyprus has detected a new variant of the coronavirus.

Leondios Kostrikis, professor of biological sciences at the University of Cyprus, and head of the Laboratory of Biotechnology and Molecular Virology, named the strain “deltacron,” because of its omicron-like genetic signatures within the delta genomes.

So far, Kostrikis and his team has discovered 25 cases of the virus, according to the report. It’s still too early to tell whether there are more cases of the strain or what impacts it could have.

“We will see in the future if this strain is more pathological or more contagious or if it will prevail” against the two dominant strains, delta and omicron, Kostrikis disclosed this in an interview. He believes omicron will also overtake deltacron, he added

The deltacron variant comes as omicron continues its rapid spread across the globe, causing a surge in Covid-19 cases. The U.S. is reporting a seven-day average of more than 600,000 new cases daily, according to a CNBC analysis Friday of data from Johns Hopkins University. That’s a 72% increase from the previous week and a pandemic record.