Bang Daebon to Announce New COVID-19 Variant 'Omicron' Measures at 9 PM

As European countries face an emergency due to the resurgence of COVID-19 infections during the winter season, residents in Lausanne, Switzerland, held a protest on the 20th (local time) against quarantine measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The protesters raised their voices against the government’s mandate requiring proof of vaccination when entering places such as restaurants. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jung] The Central Disease Control Headquarters will announce COVID-19 quarantine measures related to the new variant virus 'Omicron' around 9 p.m. on the 27th.

The government has begun preparing countermeasures after the World Health Organization (WHO) named the new COVID-19 variant 'B.1.1.529,' discovered in Botswana and spreading in the Republic of South Africa, as 'Omicron' and designated it a 'variant of concern.'

From 7 p.m. on the same day, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency and related ministries will hold a meeting to assess the overseas inflow situation of the Omicron variant and finalize response measures.

Since the United States, Europe, Japan, and Singapore have decided to impose travel restrictions on African countries or block entry of travelers from South Africa to prevent the inflow of the Omicron variant, it is expected that our authorities will also impose entry restrictions on countries where the Omicron variant has been detected.

There have been no confirmed cases of the Omicron variant domestically yet. Flights departing from Omicron-affected areas, including South Africa, are currently still operating.