The WHO says the Indian variant may soon become the dominant strain of Covid in parts of the EU.
It comes as the Health Minister described the variant as "very, very worrying." There are four variants of concern circulating across the WHO's European Region.
B1617.2 or the Indian variant has been identified in 26 of the 53 counties in the region, including Ireland.
Dr Hans Klunge is the WHO's Regional Director. Covid-19 Incident Manager with the WHO Dr Catherine Smallwood says the UK variant is currently the most dominant in the EU.
The Health Minister this morning said the Indian variant could be 50 per cent more contagious than the UK variant.
But the WHO says it's difficult to say for certain, but it has shown to be capable of spreading quite quickly in the presence of the UK strain.
