Sarangjeil Church Virus Transmission 6 Times Stronger 'GH Group'... Same as Itaewon Club (Update)

Novel Coronavirus Infection (COVID-19) GH Virus Group. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Seul-gi] The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cluster infections that occurred at Sarangjeil Church and Woori Jeil Church have been found to contain the same GH group virus as the infection cases from the Itaewon clubs in May.

On this day, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) announced the results of viral gene sequence analysis from 129 patient samples collected between the 10th and 20th of this month (105 domestic cases, 24 imported cases).

The analysis revealed that all samples obtained from confirmed cases related to Sarangjeil Church and Woori Jeil Church, where cluster infections were identified from mid-month, contained the GH group virus.

It was also confirmed that the main virus types at other cluster infection sites, such as the Starbucks near Yadang Station in Paju City and the employee gathering at Lotte Ria in Seoul, belong to the GH group.

The GH group is a virus type previously identified in the Itaewon club cluster infections and the Yecheon cases in Gyeongbuk Province.

The CDCH explained, "In domestic cases, before early April this year, the S and V groups were predominant, but after May, the S and V groups have not been detected, and viruses belonging to the GH group have mainly appeared."

They added, "Globally, the S and V groups were prevalent until early April, but since then, the G, GR, and GH groups have been dominant," further noting, "The GR group is prevalent in Africa, India, and Russia, while the GH group is dominant in North America, Europe, and the Middle East."

Meanwhile, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the GH group virus is known to have 2.6 to 9.3 times higher replication ability in cells compared to other groups.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.