The arrival of virus variants has added a new twist, a new chapter to the coronavirus story.
It is as though a dangerous fugitive is changing his disguises to avoid capture.
It is serious enough to cast doubt about the much heralded vaccines, developed to subdue the original virus that first appeared in China more than a year ago.
The latest threat is the new strain that surfaced in South Africa and is now finding its way into other countries, including Britain where over 100 cases have been recorded.
To combat it, door-to-door testing is taking place in hundreds of thousands of households including London, south east England, and the south west.
The new virus variant is said to be more infectious than the original strain and, more worrying, less responsive to vaccines.
We have been reassured that the clutch of vaccines that have been developed are effective, ranging from sixty to ninety five percent and that that mutation in viruses is not unusual - there are many strains of flu, for example.
But the unwelcome newcomer is creating uncertainty, a permanent feature of the coronavirus saga.
Will it prolong the restrictions? Will our vaccination programme contain and eventually eliminate it along with other variants?
Scientists seem to think so, but they are being cautious.
Yet another twist - our familiar dreaded bug seems to have stopped the flu in its tracks. Wales has so far had the fewest cases for years and countries in north and south hemispheres have reported the same good news,
And it may have come about through the precautions we are taking, the safe distancing, the hand washing and the masks.
At least we have something to be grateful for as we battle against new respiratory diseases.
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