Should I be worried about new, more contagious Covid strain circulating, and what are Nimbus variant symptoms?

Explainer

The new variant is called NB.1.8.1, or Nimbus. Photo: Getty

Eilish O'Regan

A new, fast-spreading Covid variant has arrived in Ireland and is on the watchlist of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

NB.1.8.1, also called Nimbus, is blamed for a sharp surge in cases of the virus in China in particular and it is the dominant strain in western Australia. What do we know about the new strain so far?