94.3% of Domestic COVID Infections Are 'Delta Variant'... Strengthened Quarantine for Lambda Variant (Update)

Delta Plus Infection Cases Also Rise to a Total of 7

On the 13th, overseas arrivals were waiting for transportation guidance at the arrival hall of Terminal 2, Incheon International Airport. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of midnight, the total number of confirmed domestic cases increased by 1,990 to 220,182. There were 1,913 locally transmitted cases and 77 imported cases. Photo by Mo Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] Last week, most domestic COVID-19 cases were found to be infections of the highly transmissible India-originated 'Delta variant.'

Lee Sang-won, head of the Epidemiological Investigation and Analysis Team at the Central Disease Control Headquarters, stated at the COVID-19 regular briefing on the 31st, "The detection rate of major variant viruses in domestic COVID-19 cases over the past week was 94.8%, with the Delta variant detection rate at 94.3%. There were 3,128 domestic infection cases and 327 imported cases," he said.

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, from the 22nd to the 28th, a total of 3,455 cases of infection with the four major variants were confirmed domestically. Among the new infections, 3,427 were Delta variant cases, accounting for nearly all variant infections. The remaining 27 cases were the UK-origin Alpha variant, and one case was the South Africa-origin Beta variant.

Among the 3,128 domestic infection cases, the Delta variant accounted for 3,110 cases. The detection rate of the Delta variant was only 3.3% in the fourth week of June two months ago but surged to 94.3% in just two months. The detection rate of the previously dominant Alpha variant dropped from 27.3% to 0.5% last week.

Accordingly, since December last year, a total of 20,297 major variant infection cases have been confirmed domestically. Of these, 16,881 were Delta variant cases, 3,244 Alpha, 150 Beta, and 22 Gamma.

Cases infected with the Delta Plus variant are also increasing. Lee explained, "Research results so far indicate that Delta Plus does not differ significantly from Delta in its characteristics, so it is considered a type of Delta variant rather than a separate classification, and statistics count it as Delta. So far, seven Delta Plus infections have been confirmed domestically."

Additionally, due to concerns over the spread of variants such as Lambda among overseas arrivals, the Central Disease Control Headquarters decided to strengthen quarantine measures for entrants from Peru and Chile. Starting from the 10th of next month, Korean nationals and long-term foreign residents arriving from Peru and Chile will be quarantined for seven days in temporary living facilities, with quarantine measures strengthened by switching to self-quarantine depending on test results.

Upon entry, travelers must submit a PCR negative certificate, undergo seven days of facility quarantine, and receive two diagnostic tests. However, for short-term foreign visitors, the current 14-day facility quarantine will still apply.

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