'CES Outbreak Emergency' Surge in Imported Cases... Turning Point for Omicron Spread

On the 5th of last month (local time), the world's largest electronics and IT exhibition, 'CES 2022,' opened at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Nevada, USA, where visitors and press began entering the exhibition hall. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The detection rate of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in South Korea has surpassed 10%. Concerns are rising that the spread of Omicron could accelerate as the number of imported infections increases, including confirmed COVID-19 cases among attendees of 'CES 2022,' the world's largest electronics and IT exhibition held offline for the first time in two years.

According to health authorities on the 10th, the nationwide detection rate of the Omicron variant in the first week of January was recorded at 12.5%. This marks a rapid increase from 3.7% in the fourth week of last month and 8.8% in the fifth week, reaching double digits last week.

Domestic community infections are rising alongside a significant increase in infections among overseas arrivals. The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of midnight on the same day, there were 239 new confirmed COVID-19 cases imported from abroad. This is the highest number since July 22 of last year (309 cases), when 270 confirmed cases from the Cheonghae Unit deployed in the African waters were simultaneously classified as imported cases.

In particular, cases of COVID-19 infection among attendees of the recently concluded CES 2022 are being confirmed one after another. The event, held locally on the 7th (local time), was shortened by one day and ended after three days due to the spread of the Omicron variant. About 500 companies, including Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, participated from South Korea.

An attendee who recently returned after visiting the CES exhibition hall said, "The number of confirmed cases in the U.S. recently increased to one million," adding, "I am in quarantine for 10 days, and even though I tested negative, I feel very anxious." He explained, "At the Las Vegas venue where the exhibition was held, most people except Asians were not wearing masks properly," and "some hotel staff even greeted guests without wearing masks."

A health official stated, "The spread continues globally due to the impact of Omicron," and added, "This trend is clear in the U.S. and Europe, which have close exchanges with our country, and the number of patients imported due to high confirmed cases overseas is increasing."

Currently, to prevent Omicron infections from entering the country, health authorities have blocked entry of short-term foreign visitors departing from 11 African countries including Namibia, South Africa, and Mozambique since the 3rd of last month. However, this measure does not apply to foreign arrivals from the U.S., which has the highest number of COVID-19 imported infections including Omicron variants.

Kwon Deok-cheol, First Vice Minister of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Minister of Health and Welfare), said on the day, "It has been found that the share of Omicron in the U.S. and the U.K. already exceeds 95%," and "Experts predict that Omicron will become the dominant strain in South Korea within one to two months due to its high transmissibility." He emphasized, "The Lunar New Year holiday, when many people will travel, is expected to be a turning point," and "This means the golden time to thoroughly prepare for the rapidly approaching wave of Omicron is running out."

Vice Minister Kwon added, "We plan to adapt the existing quarantine management and medical response systems to Omicron," and "Before Omicron becomes dominant, we will focus on blocking importation and spread through quarantine, diagnostic testing, and epidemiological investigations, and after it becomes dominant, we will immediately switch to the appropriate quarantine and medical systems."