COVID-19 cases are rising again as a new variant begins to circulate in some parts of the world. The World Health Organization says the rise in cases is primarily in the eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia and western Pacific regions and airport screening in the United States has detected the new variant in travellers arriving from those regions to destinations in California, Washington state, Virginia, and New York.

The new variant is called NB.1.8.1. had by mid-May had reached nearly 11% of sequenced samples reported globally. The WHO has designated it a “variant under monitoring” and considers the public health risk low at the global level with current vaccines expected to remain effective.

The WHO said some western Pacific countries have reported increases in COVID cases and hospitalizations, but there’s nothing so far to suggest that the disease associated with the new variant is more severe compared to other variants.

The variant called LP.8.1 is currently the dominant version in the U.S. and globally.

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