31 Additional Cases of Variant Virus Confirmed... 12 Are 'Domestically Occurred' (Update)

Accumulated 213 Confirmed Domestic Variant Cases Since October
8 of 12 Domestic Cases Originated from Existing Cluster Infections

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 variant viruses in South Korea has increased by 31, bringing the total to 213. Notably, among the 31 newly confirmed cases, 12 were domestically transmitted, raising concerns about the spread of variant viruses in the local community.

Jung Eun-kyung, Commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), stated at the regular COVID-19 briefing on the 15th, "Genetic analysis of 359 confirmed cases since the 11th of this month revealed a total of 31 additional variant virus infections, including 12 domestic cases and 19 imported cases." This brings the total number of confirmed variant virus infections since October last year to over 200.

The newly added variant virus infections all correspond to the three major variants from the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Brazil. The UK variant accounted for the largest number with 24 cases, followed by 7 cases of the South African variant.

Among the 19 imported cases, 6 were detected during quarantine, and the remaining 12 were confirmed through tests conducted during self-isolation after entry. One other case was confirmed positive through testing after entry as an exemption from quarantine.

The remaining 12 cases were domestically transmitted, all involving Korean nationals. Eight additional variant infections were identified in existing cluster infection cases. These clusters include a family in Gimhae-si, Gyeongnam, a food company in Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi, a funeral home in Buk-gu, Busan, a golf practice range in Ulsan, and manufacturing in Yeoju-si, Gyeonggi. There were also 2 confirmed cases related to a church in Pohang-si, Gyeongbuk.

During the process of checking for variants among community-confirmed cases, 2 individual cases were identified. These 2 variant virus-infected individuals are acquaintances, and authorities are investigating their connection to existing cluster infection cases.

Commissioner Jung stated, "We continue to strengthen quarantine measures for overseas entrants and expand surveillance and analysis of variant viruses."

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