A new Covid variant known as JN.1 - or 'Juno' - has seen a massive spike in over the Christmas period.

First detected in France and the US, Juno has now made its way to the UK. In the past month, the new variant has accounted for 47.5 percent of all UK Covid cases, with this week's figures indicating it has risen to nearly 70 percent.

First tracked as part of the BA.2.86 'Pirola' strain, Juno has now been classified as a subvariant by the World Health Organisation (WHO), and a variant of interest in its own right. Both strains are descendants of Omicron.

In their latest update, WHO maintained that JN.1 poses relatively low risk to public health, especially in well-vaccinated countries such as the UK. However, the rapid spread of the strain may indicate that it is more transmissable than previous variants.

The Juno variant should produce similar symptoms to most other Covid variants, according to the CDC. Their most recent list of Covid symptoms include:

• Fever or chills

• Cough

• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

• Fatigue

• Muscle or body aches

• Headache

• New loss of taste or smell

• Sore throat

• Congestion or runny nose

• Nausea or vomiting

• Diarrhea