What is ‘American Covid’ and how bad is it?

The strain has swept the US (Picture: Getty Images)

Cases of so-called ‘American Covid’ are on the rise in the UK.

The strain is officially called XFG, or ‘Stratus’, and is the most common variant in North America, hence the name.

It might soon need to be renamed, then, given that it now accounts for more than half of positive tests in the UK, too, according to new figures.