"Omicron Likely to Become Dominant Variant by End of This Month"... Need to Secure Severe Case Beds

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] The Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus is expected to become the dominant strain within this month. Calls are growing to swiftly transition the quarantine system in preparation for the spread of Omicron.

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) on the 10th, the cumulative number of domestic Omicron infections reached 2,351 as of the 8th. This is an increase of 1,033 cases in six days from the 1,318 cases counted by 6 p.m. on the 2nd.

In South Korea, the Omicron variant is spreading more than twice as fast as the Delta variant. Since the first confirmed Omicron case on December 1, the number has risen to 2,351 in 39 days. The Delta variant reached 2,351 cases on July 19, the 89th day after the first infection was confirmed on April 22 last year. The spread of the Omicron variant is about 2.3 times faster, taking 50 days less.

Lee Sang-won, head of the epidemiological investigation and analysis team at the CDCH, said, "According to current predictions by the quarantine authorities, it is highly likely that Omicron will become dominant by the end of January."

Countries such as the United States and Europe have already established Omicron as the dominant strain, accounting for more than 80-90% of total confirmed cases. Last week, the detection rate of Omicron in South Korea was 12.5%.

The quarantine authorities have strengthened isolation of infected individuals and management of close contacts to slow the spread of Omicron. From the 3rd for one week, the infection routes of newly confirmed Omicron cases were 573 imported cases and 460 domestic (community) infections. The cumulative infections are 1,276 imported and 1,075 domestic cases.

Although most Omicron variant infections are known to be asymptomatic or mild cases, there have been a total of two cases that progressed to severe illness.

The quarantine authorities are preparing new quarantine strategies considering the rapid transmissibility of the Omicron variant.

Lee said, "The Omicron variant has high transmissibility but low severity, so primary care at clinic-level facilities may be possible."

The Quarantine Medical Subcommittee of the Daily Recovery Support Committee advised that confirmed patients be treated in a distributed manner at clinic-level medical institutions and that the general treatment bed system be shifted to focus on home treatment.

Some in the medical community believe that if the number of critically ill patients decreases and medical response capacity remains, social distancing measures could be somewhat relaxed even if Omicron spreads. However, looking at cases abroad including the United States, even if the severity rate decreases, the absolute number of patients increases, which could lead to a rise in critically ill patients. This is why securing critical care beds is necessary.

The spread of the Omicron variant has also caused a surge in testing demand. Diagnostic testing capacity will be expanded from the current 750,000 tests per day to 850,000 tests per day. Measures are also being considered to allow rapid antigen testing at hospital and clinic-level medical institutions.

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