Mapped: All the cases of new Covid variant XEC reported in Europe so far

A new Covid variant has been reported across the globe with fears it will soon be the dominant strain of the illness.

Cases of the XEC variant, first detected in Germany in June, have since been reported in the UK, US, Denmark and other countries. Experts say the strain is now “taking charge” and will likely continue to spread globally.

The strain has been detected in at least 15 countries and 12 US states, according to Scripps Research’s Outbreak.info page which tracks data from the global initiative on sharing all influenza data (GISAID).