Cicada COVID variant reaches Ontario with cases confirmed as experts urge calm over new strain

A new COVID-19 strain, known as the cicada covid variant BA.3.2, has been detected in Ontario, adding Canada to a growing list of countries reporting cases.

According to Public Health Ontario, 21 infections were identified in the province between 18 January and 14 February.

The variant, first detected in South Africa in November 2024, has since spread widely, with cases reported in at least 23 countries and across multiple US states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Despite its global spread, experts say the variant is unlikely to significantly change how COVID-19 affects daily life.

In an interview with CP24, infectious disease specialist Isaac Bogoch said: “The symptom range is still going to be the same, and the prevention is still going to be the same. So, from people’s day-to-day lives, in terms of, what does this look like for me? What does this look like for the community? Nothing. There’s going to be nothing new versus what we’ve seen over the last, let’s call it three years or so.”

Bogoch added that widespread immunity through vaccination and prior infection has reduced the virus’s overall impact.

“That’s why it’s turned into a virus that completely overwhelmed our health-care system for a couple of years, to a virus that still packs a punch, needs to be respected, but is predominantly causing significant illness in the extremes of age and in those who are immunocompromised,” he said.