The coronavirus which has plagued our lives for nearly a year has mutated.
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A variant has emerged in Britain which has led to an emergency lockdown in London.
Canada and some European countries have blocked travellers from Britain from entry.
The first thing to say is that viruses mutate. This is completely expected.
The more important question is whether this mutation alters the behaviour of the virus.
What's different?
It seems this strain - the "B.1.1.7 lineage" - is more infectious than the original version which appeared in the Chinese city of Wuhan a year ago.
According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control: "While it is known and expected that viruses constantly change through mutation leading to the emergence of new variants, preliminary analysis in the UK suggests that this variant is significantly more transmissible than previously circulating variants."
England's chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, said the development was "going to make things a lot worse".
Scientists don't know why there's been a spike in cases in the UK. It may be because of the new strain or it may be because it is winter and the virus finds winter more congenial, or it may be a mixture of both factors and others.
Is it confined to Britain?
It is not.
Earlier in December, 1,623 virus samples were identified as belonging to the variant. Of these, about 1000 were in the London area.
But the variant has appeared in Australia as well as in Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium.
The WHO's senior emergency officer for Europe, Catherine Smallwood, said one instance of the variant had been seen in Australia, nine in Denmark and one in the Netherlands.
This may be because the variant is only present in these countries or, more likely, it's because these countries have very large genome sequencing efforts - in other words, the scientists are detecting more in these countries because they are better at detection, and testing is more widespread there.
Does it mean the vaccines won't work?
"There's no evidence at the moment that it has any effect on the severity of the illness from the virus. There is no evidence at the moment that it interferes with the vaccine," Australia's Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said.
But its full implications aren't yet known, according to Lucy van Dorp, a researcher in microbial genomics at University College, London wrote.
She said that we should have some reassurance because vaccines trigger a broad response to the invading virus "so it is anticipated that their efficacy will not be significantly hampered by mutations".
But it may mean that the vaccines will have to be adapted as the virus changes - though this already happens with vaccines for other illnesses. Researchers develop and tweak vaccines so they address whatever change happens in the target virus.
"It is therefore conceivable that we may reach a point where we are required to update our COVID-19 vaccines, as we do for influenza, to reflect the variants in circulation at the time," Dr van Dorp said.
Where do mink fit in?
In Denmark, 17 million mink have been culled because a different variant of the coronavirus was detected in the animal.
Minks are farmed for their fur, with China being a big market. Apart from Denmark, coronavirus infections have been found among mink in France, Lithuania, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Poland, and the United States.
Ireland plans to cull its 100,000 mink.
More than 300 humans working with mink are thought to have caught COVID-19 from the animals so Denmark's government ordered the mass cull.
This is now hugely contentious there. The Danish Prime Minister has accepted that she had no authority to order the cull which has destroyed an industry.
The dead animals may have to be dug up because there are fears for the water supply.
Is it just mink which can catch the virus?
The virus has been detected in several animals, including a tiger at the Bronx Zoo in New York, but mink are the only animal thought to be capable of infecting humans.
But the experts in the virus downplay the dangerousness of the situation to humans. They say that it was anticipated that mutations of the virus would arise in mink - but these infections wouldn't make any vaccine less effective as a protection against the illness in people.
But it may not be good for animals
There are about 60 different types of animal which may be susceptible to the coronavirus. These include, according to New Scientist, "gorillas and chimps to foxes, yaks, giant pandas and koalas. Even some whales, dolphins and seals may be able to catch it".
Catching COVID-19 may threaten some species, according to a group of European scientists: "Wild mammals often live on the edge of survival, so even a mild disease may result in lower survival or reproduction probabilities.
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"Natural stressful situations, such as food shortages and coinfections, may also predispose wild mammals to a more severe disease. Infection with equine coronavirus has a low mortality rate among domestic horses but causes clinical problems such as leukopenia and metabolic disturbances that can have serious secondary consequences in wild mammals."
To sum up
The new variant of the coronavirus is not good. It makes the virus much more effective at spreading. But the vaccine should still work against it.
But we are learning that eliminating this epidemic is complicated and may take longer than anyone anticipates.
Steve Evans
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
