Health authorities said on Sunday that the country has no confirmed cases of a new hybrid strain of the COVID-19 omicron variant.

According to foreign media, a report released last Tuesday by the World Health Organization(WHO) recently warned of the new mutant strain called XE, saying that it could be the most transmissible coronavirus strain so far.

The new variant was reportedly detected in Britain first before an infection was reported in Taiwan.

Local health authorities said on Sunday that according to the WHO, there are three recombinant viruses – XD, XE and XF, with studies underway on their transmissibility. XE is a hybrid of two omicron sublineages – BA.1 and BA.2.

The authorities said that early British studies indicate the XE strain could be ten percent more transmissible than BA.2, but more studies are needed to understand the new strain more accurately.