UK health officials tracking hybrid Covid-19 strain of Delta, Omicron variants

A new report reveals UK health officials are monitoring a new Covid-19 variant as a legitimate threat. The variant had initially been dismissed when discovered last month.

“Deltacron” watch is officially back on.

Last month, medical experts were dismissive of claims that a new Covid-19 variant – a combination of the fast-spreading Omicron and Delta strains – had been discovered, theNY Post reported.

But in a report published on Saturday, UK health officials revealed Deltacron is officially being monitored as a legitimate threat, according to The Mirror.

Delta and Omicron have proven to be more contagious than the original form of the bug. However, it is not yet clear how contagious or widespread the new strain is, with cases reported to be low.

Scientists believe the new variant evolved in a patient who caught both the Omicron and Delta variants at the same time, the report said.

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A health worker prepares a coronavirus vaccine at a pop-up Covid-19 vaccination clinic in the UK. Picture: Lindsey Parnaby/AFPs

The development comes weeks after initial reports of a Deltacron variant were dismissed, after a doctor in Cyprus reported detecting it.

Confirmed UK virus cases dropped 29 per cent in the past week and are down 76 per cent since their peak at the beginning of the year.

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson at a vaccination centre. Picture: Peter Cziborra/Pool/AFP

The US has seen an even bigger decline in new cases, with the total down 46 per cent in the past week and down 86 per cent since topping 1.1 million per day in mid-January.

Fragments of strains that are unlike any known covid variants have also been found in the New York City sewer system.

This story originally appeared on the NY Post and was republished with permission.