A huge explosion in cases across India over the past month left hospitals braced for an influx of infections. Yet the once-spiralling curve has now flattened off before it had chance to overwhelm the nation.
First detected in India, Omicron subvariant XBB.1.16 - also known as "Arcturus" - has already been reported in over 30 countries. This is what we know about it so far.
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DailyMail.com understands that some patients who have caught the Arcturus variant have died. It has already been linked to at least six deaths globally, in Thailand and the UK.