Half of Confirmed Cases in the Past Week Are Variants... Delta Variant Detection Rate at 39.9% (Update)

Detection Rate of Delta Variant in the Seoul Metropolitan Area Rises from 26.5% to 36.5%

On the 18th, when the large-scale spread of COVID-19 continued in Korea, citizens lined up in a long queue at the temporary screening clinic at Seoul Station to get tested. According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, as of midnight on that day, the number of new confirmed cases increased by 1,454, marking the highest figure for a weekend. The number has recorded four digits for 12 consecutive days since the 7th, when it was 1,212. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] Genetic analysis of COVID-19 confirmed cases revealed an additional 1,252 cases of variant viruses. The detection rate of major variant viruses, including domestic infections and overseas inflows, was 52.6% in the past week, with the detection rate of the Delta variant increasing to 39.9%.

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters on the 20th, as of midnight on the 17th, 1,252 additional cases of variant viruses were confirmed, bringing the total number of confirmed variant virus cases since December last year to 4,605.

Among the newly confirmed 1,252 cases, 1,001 were domestic infections, and 251 were cases of overseas inflow.

By variant type, the Delta variant was the most prevalent with 951 cases, followed by the Alpha variant with 297 cases, and Beta and Gamma variants with 2 cases each.

Among the cumulative 4,605 cases, the Alpha variant was the most common with 2,702 cases, followed by the Delta variant with 1,741 cases, the Beta variant with 145 cases, and the Gamma variant with 17 cases.

The detection rate of major variant viruses in domestic infections over the past week was 47.1%, with the Delta variant detection rate at 33.9%.

In particular, the detection rate of the Delta variant in the Seoul metropolitan area rose from 26.5% in the first week of July to 36.5% in the second week of July.

As the Delta variant surged overseas, the detection rate of overseas inflow Delta variants also soared from 86.1% in the first week of July to 90.3% in the second week of July.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters stated, "The variant virus analysis rate over the past week was 25.1%," and added, "We are continuously expanding analysis to strengthen variant virus surveillance."

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