India, April 2 -- A new Covid variant nicknamed 'Cicada' has sparked concerns across the globe after reportedly being detected in samples of at least 23 countries, over six years after the virus sent the world in lockdown.

The mutation of virus which causes coronavirus disease (short for which is Covid) is common knowledge and new strains have popped up ever since the outbreak turned into a pandemic in March 2020.

The new Covid variant - BA.3.2 - is a SARS-CoV-2 variant that is a descendent lineage of the Omicron variant BA.3, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which said the earliest sample of it were collected in November 2024.

BA.3.2 has been designated a SARS-CoV-2 Variant Under Monitoring (VUM), WHO said.

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