SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — A new COVID variant with some scary symptoms is gaining traction throughout the United States.

The variant is called Arcturus, it’s responsible for a growing share of new COVID infections and often starts with an eye infection – or pinkeye.

It’s a descendant of the Omnicron variant – which has been the most dominant strain of COVID

A report from the CDC shows that Arcturus is responsible for at least fifteen percent of all new COVID cases.

Although the severity is easing up, Bonzo Riddick, district director at Coastal Health says the Coronavirus itself is here to stay.

“Coronavirus is never gonna go away. Coronavirus is gonna be here forever. When I was in middle school 20 something years ago, we were taught that coronavirus is the second largest cause of the common cold. So seeing millions and millions of cases of coronavirus is not a new thing” Riddick said.

Despite still being highly contagious, its long term effects are not believed to be more severe than any past variant

Its ability to spread so easily is concerning to experts, they hope people remain cautious about going to work with symptoms.

“For coronavirus or certain things like the flu, there should be a certain time before people go back to work. But make sure employers aren’t pushing people to come back, and but that employees themselves are not rushing to go back as well” said Riddick.

Although it’s not as severe as other variants, experts say it does appear to be more contagious than past variants.