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A perilous new COVID-19 variant, originating from China and now making its way to the US and could soon strike the UK, is "more transmissible," according to medical experts. Since

March, this new variant, known as the NB. 1.8.1 strain, has been identified in international travellers arriving in New York, Washington state, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Hawaii. California

has become the sixth state to detect the variant, with the California Department of Public Health issuing a warning about this highly contagious strain. "In other words, it is more

transmissible," Verma further explained. Health officials have noted that the variant was first detected in March and has seen a steady increase since 1 May, reports the Express US. In

California, cases have surged from two percent to 19% since April, according to officials. This strain is more infectious than those currently circulating, potentially leading to an increase

in hospitalisations and infections. Data from the World Health Organisation indicates that it constitutes more than half of the strains currently in circulation, prompting California to

call for the reintroduction of masks as a protective measure. The California Public Health Department has reassured that the "currently available vaccines are expected to remain

effective," despite Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 's move to restrict access for healthy children and pregnant women. The Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention has yet to begin tracking the NB. 1.8.1 variant, while LP. 8.1 has become the most prevalent strain in the US, accounting for 73% of COVID-19 cases. Symptoms of these variants

mirror those of previous ones, including fever, cough, chills, nausea, shortness of breath, congestion, diarrhoea, headache, loss of smell or taste, fatigue, and more. The World Health

Organization has stated that "Currently approved COVID-19 vaccines are expected to remain effective to this variant against symptomatic and severe disease," and considers the

threat posed by it as "low at the global level." Nevertheless, WHO has categorised it as a "variant under monitoring" due to its mutations and worldwide spread. Despite

its presence in 22 countries, no travel restrictions have been imposed on the variant. China has seen a rise in respiratory illnesses from 3.3 to 6.3 percent, with a notable increase in

emergency room patients testing positive for COVID.