It may be weeks before the significance of the highly mutated Omicron variant of the COVID-19 variant is understood.

The variant was first publicly recognized in South Africa and has since spread throughout the world, including a number of confirmed cases in Canada.

It’s prompted new travel advisories and restrictions while health officials determine the new variant’s impact and what it means.

The mutations associated with the Omicron variant may make the virus better able to evade the body’s immune system, and make it more easily transmissible.

Professor of Virology and Immunology at Memorial University, Rod Russell, says it’s hard to say at this time what kind of an impact this particular variant might have.

He says his first reaction was that it was likely no different from other variants in circulation, but when he started looking at the mutations, he thought “hold on now.” He says these particular mutations could be problematic, but it’s still hard to say.