14 New Cases of Imported Variant Virus Infections...Total 156 Cases

On the morning of the 26th, the first day of AstraZeneca (AZ) COVID-19 vaccination, a vaccination station is set up at the Geumcheon-gu Public Health Center in Seoul. Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] Additional cases of infection with variant viruses known to be more contagious than the original COVID-19 have been reported.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) announced on the 1st, "After analyzing 181 confirmed cases of domestic community transmission and overseas inflow since the 25th of last month, variant viruses were identified in 14 cases." All 14 newly confirmed variant infections were cases of overseas inflow.

By country, 11 cases were infected with the variant originating from the United Kingdom, and 3 cases were infected with the variant from the Republic of South Africa (Namagong).

Among the 14 infections presumed to be imported, 2 were identified during quarantine processes at airports and ports, while the remaining 12 tested positive during tests conducted while in self-quarantine after entry.

The CDCH also tested two cohabiting family members who may have come into contact with the variant-infected individuals during self-quarantine; one tested positive and one tested negative for COVID-19. These individuals have also entered self-quarantine.

As a result, the total number of people infected with variant viruses in the country has reached 156. Among them, 133 cases are of the UK-origin variant, 17 cases of the South African-origin variant, and 6 cases of the Brazilian-origin variant.

The health authorities have completed genetic analysis to determine the presence of variant viruses in a total of 3,415 cases, including 2,451 domestic community transmission cases and 964 overseas inflow cases, since October last year up to this day.