S’porean girl, 10, confirmed as Taiwan’s first case of new Covid-19 strain
Taiwan has reported its first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2— a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who arrived on March 14.
According to Taiwan’s EBC News, she arrived in Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and was found to have a 38.5°C fever.
Saliva testing found that she carried the BA.3.2 strain — the island’s first reported case of the variant, said Lin Ming-cheng, Deputy Director-General of Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
The girl had reportedly been in Singapore for 14 days before travelling to Taiwan, where most of her activities took place in Taipei. She returned to Singapore on March 20.
The 10-year-old also had not received a Covid-19 vaccine in the past 12 months and was instructed by quarantine personnel to seek medical attention within 24 hours, Taipei Times reported.
There was no risk of community transmission, the CDC added.
New strain detected in 23 countries as of February 2026
According to the US’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the BA.3.2 strain was discovered in South Africa in November 2024, and new cases have been detected in 23 countries as of February 2026.
CDC’s Lin added that there is no evidence the variant causes a significant increase in transmissibility or the risk of developing severe illness, though it will be further monitored by the agency.
In a statement to Stomp, Associate Professor Lim Poh Lian, group director of the Communicable Diseases Programme at the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA), said the agency is closely monitoring the Covid-19 situation locally and abroad.
“BA.3.2 levels have remained low in Singapore, accounting for less than 5 per cent of all local samples sequenced in 2026,” she said, adding that the strain is not associated with severe illness, ICU admissions or deaths.
Describing the situation as “stable”, Prof Lim said Covid-19 cases made up 3 per cent of acute respiratory infection samples in the community for the week of March 15 to 21.
She added that there are currently no plans to introduce additional public health measures.
“The currently approved Covid-19 vaccines continue to provide protection against severe disease from circulating strains,” she said.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include a statement from the Communicable Diseases Agency.
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