Authorities: "1,033 New Omicron Infections in One Week... Quarantine Measures Contribute to Slowing Spread"

On the 10th, citizens at a large supermarket in Seoul checked the validity of their quarantine passes to enter, following the addition of large-scale stores such as shopping malls, marts, department stores, agricultural and marine products distribution centers, and bookstores with an area of 3,000㎡ or more to the mandatory quarantine pass application targets. The one-week guidance period will operate until the 16th, and from the 17th, individuals will be fined 100,000 KRW per violation. Photo by Mun Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Domestic cases of Omicron COVID-19 variant infections have increased by more than 1,000 over the past week, with the Omicron detection rate exceeding 10% for the first time.

According to the quarantine authorities as of midnight on the 10th, the cumulative number of domestic Omicron infection cases reached 2,351. This is a sharp increase of 1,033 cases (43.9%) from 1,318 in the fifth week of last month. Among the new infections during this period, 573 were imported cases, and 460 were domestic (community) infections.

Omicron Detection Rate Jumps 8.5%p Compared to One Week Ago

Lee Sang-won, head of the Epidemiological Investigation and Analysis Team at the Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH), stated at the regular briefing in the afternoon, "In the first week of January, 87.5% of domestic infection cases were the Delta variant, and 12.5% were the Omicron variant." This Omicron detection rate increased by 8.5 percentage points from 4.0% a week earlier.

When asked why the spread of the Omicron variant is slower domestically than overseas, Lee emphasized, "Since the end of last year, South Korea has devised a containment strategy to delay the Omicron outbreak and has strengthened special isolation and close contact management for infected individuals." He added, "We assess that the country's quarantine measures have contributed to slowing the spread to some extent," but also noted, "It is highly likely that Omicron will become dominant around the end of January."

In response to the rapid increase in the share of the Omicron variant, the Quarantine and Medical Subcommittee of the Daily Recovery Support Committee recently stated, "a swift change in quarantine and medical response strategies is necessary." They suggested considering a shift to a decentralized treatment system at clinic-level medical institutions and a home treatment-centered general treatment system, focusing on securing capabilities to respond to the Omicron variant.

"Plan to Increase PCR Testing to 850,000... Expansion of Rapid Antigen Testing Also Under Review"

Changes in diagnostic testing strategies are also expected. Lee said, "We are considering prioritizing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for the elderly and patients with underlying conditions who are at risk of severe illness upon infection, close contacts with high infection risk, and workers in nursing facilities where cluster infections have a significant impact." He added, "Others are not excluded from PCR testing but can receive tests as a secondary priority according to the current plan. In such cases, medical institution consultations and rapid antigen tests are being considered."

In this regard, the total volume of PCR tests is also expected to increase. Lee stated, "PCR testing is performed by skilled personnel using precise equipment, so there is no way to increase testing infinitely," but added, "Currently, about 750,000 tests can be processed daily, and we plan to increase this to about 850,000 to prepare for the Omicron variant."

However, regarding the system requiring unvaccinated individuals to submit a negative PCR test result within 48 hours, he drew a line, saying, "We are not currently considering changes to this."

Meanwhile, the number of severe cases progressing to critical illness after Omicron variant infection increased by one, totaling two. Park Young-jun, head of the Epidemiological Investigation Team at the CDCH, said, "(The new case) is a person in their 70s who was confirmed positive after entering the country from overseas and has now progressed to critical illness. The vaccination history is that they completed the first dose with the Janssen vaccine." He added, "We will check the current status of the two critical patients and provide separate updates."

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