Over 3,000 Confirmed Infections of Four Major Domestic Variants

On the afternoon of the 19th, overseas arrivals are exiting the arrival hall at Terminal 1 of Incheon International Airport. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases infected with the 'four major variants'?the UK, South Africa, Brazil, and India?has practically exceeded 3,000. Including other variants such as those from California and New York, the total reaches 3,738 cases.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced on the 25th that as of midnight, the total number of cases infected with the four major variants reached 1,390, with 277 new cases added since the 18th. By type, there are 1,147 UK variant cases, 125 South Africa variant cases, 11 Brazil variant cases, and 107 India variant cases.

The health authorities reported that genetic analysis was conducted on a total of 777 cases over the past week (723 domestic cases and 54 imported cases), detecting 277 variant viruses. The detection rate was 35.6%, a sharp increase of about 13 percentage points compared to the previous week's 22.5%.

Regarding this, Park Young-jun, head of the epidemiological investigation team at the Central Disease Control Headquarters, analyzed, "The proportion of cases under investigation for infection routes is increasing, especially in areas where variant viruses are prevalent. Since many samples come from regions with high variant virus confirmation, this has some influence. Additionally, the respiratory transmission and asymptomatic spread characteristics likely contributed to the gradual increase in the proportion, with both factors acting together."

In particular, concerning the steady rise of the India variant virus, Park said, "Since its appearance in Korea, it is believed to be rapidly expanding its presence," adding, "Considering the global increase, it can be judged that the number has also risen in our country."

Looking at the routes of variant virus introduction, there were 52 imported cases, including 30 Koreans and 22 foreigners. Half of these, 26 cases, were identified during quarantine, and the other half during self-isolation.

Among the 225 domestic cases, 189 were Koreans and 36 foreigners. Of these, 148 were linked to cluster infections involving variants, while the remaining 77 were individual cases.

Seoul Station Temporary Screening Clinic [Image source=Yonhap News]

However, when including 'epidemiologically related cases'?where some cluster-infected confirmed patients are confirmed variant cases and the entire infected group is presumed to be variant-infected?the number of domestic infections with the four major variants rises to 3,128. By type, epidemiologically related cases include 1,650 UK variant cases, 78 South Africa variant cases, 4 Brazil variant cases, and 5 India variant cases.

Adding 610 cases classified by authorities as 'other' variants, including 581 California variant cases and 14 New York variant cases, the total number of variant virus confirmed cases introduced domestically reaches 3,738.

The government explained that it is continuously expanding related analyses to strengthen variant virus surveillance. Lee Sang-won, head of the epidemiological investigation and analysis team at the Central Disease Control Headquarters, stated at a briefing that "Over the past week, we analyzed 18.1% of genes, more than three times the usual foreign analysis target of 5%." He also emphasized, "The health authorities will conduct thorough monitoring of variant virus occurrence and transmission, expand proactive testing targets, and strictly manage and supervise contacts and multi-use facilities. We will continue to implement strengthened measures."

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