35 Additional Omicron Subvariants Including BA.2.12.1 and 1 XQ Variant Confirmed (Update)

A total of 28 cases of BA.2.12.1, 2 cases of BA.4, and 5 cases of BA.5... all imported from abroad

As the COVID-19 pandemic subsides and demand for overseas travel increases, the threat of imported COVID-19 variants and monkeypox is gradually rising. Photo of the COVID-19 testing center at Incheon International Airport Terminal 1 on the 26th of last month. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] A total of 35 cases of three Omicron subvariants, including BA.2.12.1, have been additionally confirmed in South Korea.

On the 7th, the Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that 28 cases of BA.2.12.1, 2 cases of BA.4, 5 cases of BA.5, and 1 case of the recombinant variant XQ were detected domestically and epidemiological investigations are underway. Accordingly, the Omicron sublineages confirmed to have entered the country so far are 88 cases of BA.2.12.1, 8 cases of BA.4, and 13 cases of BA.5. The total number of recombinant variants is 9, including 4 cases of XQ, 3 cases of XE, and 2 cases of XM.

All the subvariants confirmed this time were imported cases. BA.2.12.1 was imported from the United States, Canada, the Czech Republic, and the Philippines, with the United States accounting for the largest number at 22 cases. BA.4 was imported from Brazil and Switzerland, and BA.5 from the United States, France, and Saudi Arabia.

BA.2.12.1 is known to be 23-27% more transmissible than BA.2, which itself is about 30% faster in transmission than Omicron (BA.1). In the United States, where this variant is spreading, COVID-19 cases have increased for nine consecutive weeks. From May 23 to 29, the weekly number of confirmed cases in the U.S. was 736,298, a 2.6% increase from the previous week. During the same period, the number of deaths rose by 24.7% to 2,461 compared to the previous week.

Meanwhile, all four cases of the XQ recombinant variant, including one discovered on this day, were domestic infections. XQ was previously classified as the XL variant but was reclassified as XQ following changes in the World Health Organization (WHO) classification system.

So far, community spread of Omicron subvariants and recombinant variants has not been confirmed. Park Young-jun, head of the epidemiological investigation team at the Central Disease Control Headquarters, stated, "Additional infections among household members have been confirmed in some households with newly identified variant cases," but added, "However, no cases of further transmission in workplaces or the community have been confirmed yet."

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