A new strain of coronavirus, a hybrid of “delta” and “omicron”, has been discovered in Cyprus. Researchers have dubbed it ‘deltacron’
The new strain has the same genetic basis as delta, but a number of mutations are common to omicron. According to the scientists, this variant is not dangerous
“We found a significant number of mutations that have only been identified in ‘omicron’ – it differs from the other strains in that its genome has 30 different mutations. Of these, ten have been identified in the samples mentioned”, – said Professor Leontios Kostrikis of the University of Cyprus.
According to the scientist, it is too early to say whether the new variant of SARS-CoV-2 is contagious, but he suggested that it is not a cause for concern and should be superseded by ‘omicron’.