[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] Following the suspected Omicron variant infection case at a church in Michuhol-gu, Incheon, health authorities have begun contact tracing and management for about 800 people.
On the 3rd, Park Young-jun, head of the epidemiological investigation team at the Central Disease Control Headquarters, stated at a background briefing, "Three people, including the wife, mother-in-law, and an acquaintance of a man in his 30s of Uzbek nationality infected with the Omicron variant, attended a church service on the 28th of last month," adding, "Additional confirmed cases have been reported at the church they attended."
Park explained, "We are currently tracking and managing a total of about 800 people, including 411 individuals who had contact with those related to the church and 369 people who were subject to proactive testing." He added, "Testing for these individuals began yesterday, and more confirmed cases are expected. The number of additional confirmed cases may change, so we will announce updates again."
Park also said, "If more confirmed cases emerge, this can be considered a community cluster infection related to overseas importation," adding, "This is the first case of a cluster infection within a facility related to the Omicron variant."
On the 2nd, as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 5,266, setting a new daily record, citizens visiting the screening clinic set up at Gangseo-gu Public Health Center in Seoul are waiting to be tested. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@
Additionally, among those who dined at the same restaurant as the confirmed Omicron variant case, a suspected Omicron infection case has also been identified.
According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, a woman in her 50s residing in Incheon tested positive for COVID-19 on the 1st. Although she has no personal relationship with the domestic Omicron variant confirmed case, she has been classified as an Omicron-related case.
Park stated, "This woman is not an acquaintance of the 30-year-old Uzbek man confirmed with Omicron in Korea, but they dined in the same space." He explained, "This restaurant is mainly used by foreigners, and since it is a relatively small space where people ate together, she was classified as a close contact during the initial epidemiological investigation and is being managed accordingly."
As of midnight on that day, the Central Disease Control Headquarters officially classified 13 people as Omicron-related cases, an increase of 4 from the previous day.
Among them, six people?including a couple in their 40s residing in Incheon who returned from Nigeria on the 24th of last month, their teenage child, a 30-year-old male acquaintance, and two women in their 50s residing in Gyeonggi Province who visited Nigeria and entered the country on the 23rd of last month?have been confirmed to be infected with the Omicron variant through whole genome sequencing analysis as of the previous day. These six individuals are currently asymptomatic or have mild symptoms.
The remaining seven are confirmed COVID-19 cases undergoing testing to determine which variant they are infected with, and their results are pending.
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