Three More Omicron Cases Raise Total to 9...Wife, Mother-in-Law, and Acquaintance of Incheon Couple (Update)

The government will limit the maximum number of private gatherings to 6 people in the Seoul metropolitan area and 8 people in non-metropolitan areas for four weeks starting next week to control the rapidly spreading COVID-19 outbreak since the beginning of "daily recovery." In addition, the scope of facilities subject to the quarantine pass will be expanded to include all indoor multi-use facilities such as restaurants, cafes, academies, and PC rooms, and from February next year, the quarantine pass will also be applied to adolescents aged 12 to 18. The photo shows citizens walking at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the 3rd. Photo by Kim Hyunmin kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] The number of domestic infections of the new COVID-19 variant Omicron has increased by 3, bringing the total to 9.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced on the 4th that 3 new Omicron cases were confirmed, making the cumulative number of infections 9, including 4 imported cases and 5 domestic infections.

The 3 newly confirmed cases are acquaintances of the first domestic infection case, a couple in their 40s living in Incheon who had visited Nigeria, specifically the wife, mother-in-law, and an acquaintance of a 30-year-old Uzbek man who had already tested positive.

They were diagnosed with COVID-19 on the 30th of last month, and after conducting additional whole genome sequencing, the Omicron variant was finally confirmed.

The 30-year-old Uzbek man, presumed to be the prior confirmed case for these individuals, was unvaccinated and was confirmed positive on the 29th after contact with Mr. A and his wife. It was confirmed that he continued his daily life by visiting workplaces and restaurants until his diagnosis. The Central Disease Control Headquarters explained that this man and the newly confirmed 30-year-old male acquaintance met on the 27th of last month.

Notably, the 3 newly confirmed cases on this day were also unvaccinated and attended a church service in Michuhol-gu, Incheon on the 28th of last month. The health authorities estimate that there is a high possibility of more confirmed cases emerging.

As of midnight the previous day, the Central Disease Control Headquarters officially classified a total of 13 people as Omicron-related cases.

Among them, including the couple in their 40s living in Incheon who returned from Nigeria on the 24th of last month, their teenage child, an acquaintance of the Incheon couple, two women in their 50s living in Gyeonggi-do who visited Nigeria and returned on the 23rd of last month, and the 3 newly confirmed cases on this day, a total of 9 infections have been confirmed.

The remaining 4 are currently undergoing tests to determine which variant they are infected with while being COVID-19 positive, and are awaiting results.