After the surge, a new Covid variant called "Arcturus" appears, and mandatory masks are back.

 After the surge, a new Covid variant called "Arcturus" appears, and mandatory masks are back.

The Omicron sub-variant XBB.1.16 is the more formal name for the troubling "Arcturus" Covid variant. The majority of cases originate in India, which has experienced a recent increase in infections.

A new influx of infections in India is caused by a new Covid-19 variant known as "Arcturus."

In a nation where cases have increased by 13 times in the past month, the Omicron sub-variant XBB.1.16 strain is wreaking havoc.

This week, India's health ministry started mock drills to see if hospitals are ready for a possible influx of patients as a result of the rise in cases.

For the first time in more than a year, some states have mandated the wearing of face coverings in public.

The southern state of Kerela, where Health Minister Veena George reintroduced masks for the elderly, pregnant women, and people with underlying conditions, is one example.

In April, health care workers in face masks leave a government hospital in Chennai.

On April 12, the Ministry of Health of the nation recorded 40,215 active Covid infections.

Now, officials are urging states to increase virus testing.

According to figures from Oxford University's Our World in Data, the number of new daily cases reached 3,108 on April 4, 242 more than the previous month.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is currently monitoring the Arcturus strain, which was first discovered at the end of January. Officials have noted a few mutations that are concerning.

The WHO is looking into the highly transmissible Covid variant known as "Arcturus" (Image: Dashboard for the WHO COVID-19)

"We haven't seen an adjustment of seriousness in people or in populaces however that is the reason we have these frameworks set up," said the WHO's Coronavirus specialized lead Dr Maria Van Kerkhove

"It has one more mutation in the spike protein, which in laboratory studies shows that it is more infectious and may be more pathogenic."

While Arcturus had been found in different nations, most cases were from India where it had overwhelmed different variations, Dr Van Kerkhove made sense of.

However, no change in disease severity among those infected with the variant has been reported.