Dr. Mike Ryan, WHO expert, has commented on COVID, it being "very serious" but "not necessarily the big one".

Mike, the head of the WHO emergencies program, during media briefing spoke concerns regarding the new strain of Coronavirus that spread from UK. He extended his concerns about another strain that reportedly spread from South Africa. The UK strain is named B.1.1.7 while that of South Africa is 501.V2.

Cases of both the variants are being reported in other countries too. The UK and S. Africa strains are the result of N501Y mutation and transmit faster than their previous forms.

Ryan said,"This virus is very transmissible... and it kills people and it has deprived so many people of loved ones. But its current case fatality is reasonably low in comparison to other emerging diseases. This is a wake-up call."

Extending his concern, he added: "From our perspective the planet is fragile. We live in an increasingly complex global society. These threats will continue. If there's one thing we need to take from this pandemic with all of the tragedy and loss is that we need to get our act together, we need to get ready for something that may even be more severe in future. In this we must honor those we've lost by getting better at what we do every day."

None of the new variants have been detected in the US as of now.