Public Health Wales monitoring new Covid variant

Richard Evans, local democracy reporter

Health officials say they are keeping a close watch on a new strain of Covid-19 as cases increase across Wales.

Public Health Wales says it is tracking emerging variants, including BA.3.2, which is also known as the Cicada variant, as part of ongoing UK-wide surveillance efforts.

The variant has been circulating since late 2025 and is now making up a growing share of overall cases of the virus.

Public Health Wales says Covid-19 incidence has increased in recent weeks but said levels remain “in line with usual periodic variations”.

A spokesman said: “We continue to monitor emerging COVID-19 variants, including BA.3.2, alongside our partners across the UK.

“While we are seeing an increase in the proportion of this variant, overall COVID-19 activity remains within the range we would expect to see at this time of year.”

He added: “Our surveillance systems are designed to detect changes in virus activity, and we will continue to assess all available data to understand any potential impact on public health.”

This week the UK Health Security Agency said it was monitoring the spread of the strain, which is a descendant of the older Omicron lineage and now considered a “hyper-mutated” variant, carrying 70–75 mutations in its spike protein.

According to the agency, the strain has already spread to 23 countries.