1 in 4 Omicron Infected Individuals Are Asymptomatic... 26 Asymptomatic Transmissions at Incheon Church

On the 13th, as the spread of COVID-19 continued, citizens are getting tested at a temporary screening clinic set up at Peace Plaza in World Cup Park, Mapo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] Among the four confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 Omicron variant infection in South Korea, one in four were asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced on the 13th that an epidemiological analysis of 123 domestic Omicron variant-related cases (90 confirmed, 33 suspected) showed that 24.4% were diagnosed with Omicron variant infection while asymptomatic.

Park Young-jun, head of the epidemiological investigation team at the Central Disease Control Headquarters, explained at a regular briefing, "In a church-related case in Incheon, the primary infected person attended church services during the asymptomatic period, and 26 church members were primarily confirmed infected. Additionally, there are some cases of transmission within families through asymptomatic spread."

The incubation period, which refers to the time from exposure to the Omicron variant to symptom onset, averaged 4.2 days, similar to the Delta variant’s 3 to 5 days. However, the generation time, meaning the time it takes for one person to infect another, was recorded at an average of 2.8 to 3.4 days.

In the Incheon infection cases, the generation time for the first transmission from the initial patient to three infected individuals was 2.8 days, and for the secondary transmission to 26 individuals, it was 3.4 days. This is shorter than the Delta variant’s generation time of 2.9 to 6.3 days.

Park added, "So far, it is known that asymptomatic transmission is possible with the original COVID-19 virus as well as the Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta variants. However, in the case of Omicron, symptoms appear on average after 4 days, but transmission is possible even during the asymptomatic period starting two days after virus exposure."

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