BA.5 Domestic Share at 10.4%... 255 Additional Omicron Subvariant Cases Confirmed (Update)

BA.5 137 Cases, BA.2.12.1 101 Cases, BA.4 17 Cases

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] In South Korea, 255 cases of the COVID-19 Omicron subvariants and 12 cases of Omicron recombinant variants such as XQ have been newly identified.

On the 28th, the Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that 101 cases of BA.2.12.1, 17 cases of BA.4, and 137 cases of BA.5 were confirmed domestically, and epidemiological investigations are underway. Among recombinant variants, 10 cases of XQ, 1 case of XE, and 1 case of XN were additionally detected.

So far, including recombinant variants, a total of 575 Omicron subvariant cases have been detected in South Korea: 297 cases of BA.2.12.1, 43 cases of BA.4, 210 cases of BA.5, 15 cases of XQ, 7 cases of XE, 2 cases of XM, and 1 case of XN.

The BA.5 variant cases have significantly increased from 38 last week to 137 this week. Of the 137 cases, 89 were domestic transmissions and 48 were imported. From the 19th to the 25th, the domestic share of BA.5 was 10.4%, which is higher than the previously highest subvariant BA.2.12.1 (5.4%).

Im Sook-young, head of the Central Disease Control Headquarters’ Situation Management Division, stated, "The increase in new detections of the BA.5 variant is likely due to an increase in overseas imports. Especially in European countries, BA.4 and BA.5 variants are prevalent, so it is believed that these variants are being introduced into the country."

Among the 101 cases of BA.2.12.1, 75 were domestic transmissions and 26 were imported. For BA.4, 9 of the 17 cases were domestic and 8 were imported. Among recombinant variants, all new cases of XQ and XE were domestic, while the XN variant case was imported.

Countries where BA.4, BA.5, and BA.2.12.1 variant cases are increasing are also seeing a rise in confirmed cases. In the United States, from June 6 to 12, the number of confirmed cases increased by 12.7%, from 659,903 to 743,723 compared to the previous week. The number of deaths also rose by 31.6%.

Germany and Israel have seen increases in BA.4 and BA.5 variants, with confirmed cases rising for three and two consecutive weeks, respectively. The BA.5 share in Germany and Israel is 10%, similar to the recent domestic situation over the past week.

The health authorities assessed that the slight increase in confirmed cases compared to the previous week does not indicate a resurgence but suggests that the decline trend has reached some limits. Director Im said, "I think the recent decline has somewhat slowed and reached a limit. The cause is predicted to be the waning immunity that was strengthened by vaccination and natural infection during the Omicron pandemic, and this declining trend may lead to an increase in confirmed cases."

He added, "However, it is somewhat early to evaluate this as the start of a resurgence. It is necessary to comprehensively observe the trends of confirmed cases, severe cases, and death indicators while monitoring the situation."

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