Bang Daebon "Monitoring the Situation... Status to be Announced at the Variant Briefing"
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] As the 'double mutant virus' of COVID-19 (official name B.1.617) was discovered in India, raising concerns about its influx into Korea, the government announced that it is operating a surveillance system.
The Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) responded on the 18th in reference materials to related inquiries, stating, "Korea is also operating a genomic analysis system capable of identifying the mutation and is monitoring it."
The CDCH further explained, "Besides India, this mutation has currently been identified in Australia, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and New Zealand."
The authorities added, "Investigations are also underway regarding cases of the double mutant virus originating from India entering the country."
When asked by reporters about the domestic influx, the CDCH replied, "We are currently monitoring the situation," and added, "The status will be announced during the variant virus briefing."
There are observations that the Indian variant virus may reduce the effectiveness of currently developed vaccines or monoclonal antibody treatments.
Concerns have also been raised that the Indian variant, like other variants, might have higher transmissibility.
Regarding this, the CDCH stated, "There is no accurate information yet, and research on transmissibility is ongoing," adding, "The World Health Organization (WHO) currently does not classify it as a major variant or other variant."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
