Israel's ministry of health says it has recorded two cases of new Covid-19 variant, but which officials say they are not unduly worried about, reports AFP.

The strain, combining two sub-variants of the Omicron version of the Covid-19 virus — dubbed BA.1 and BA.2 — was recorded during PCR tests on two passengers arriving at Israel's Ben Gurion airport.

“This variant is still unknown around the world,” the ministry statement read.

“The two cases of the combined strain, which have been discovered so far, suffered from mild symptoms of fever, headaches and muscle dystrophy, and do not require a special medical response,” it added.