Domestic Omicron Subvariant Share Similar to Overseas Countries with 'Increasing Confirmed Cases'

BA.5 Share at 10.4% from 19th to 25th This Month
Germany and Israel Showing 2-3 Week Increase Trend
BA.5 Share Similar at Around 10%

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] As the subvariants of Omicron increase domestically, the number of COVID-19 cases has shifted to an upward trend in overseas countries with similar variant prevalence levels.

The detection of Omicron subvariants in Korea is doubling approximately every week. On the 7th of this month, 36 new variant detections were reported, increasing to 71 on the 14th, 119 on the 21st, and 267 on the 28th. So far, the cumulative cases are highest for BA.2.12.1 at 297, followed by BA.5 with 210, BA.4 with 43, and recombinant variants such as XQ with 25 cases.

In the past week, the variant with the highest domestic prevalence is BA.5. Between the 19th and 25th, BA.5 accounted for 10.4% of cases domestically. For domestic infections only, it was 7.5%, an increase of 5.5 percentage points from the previous week. Among imported cases, BA.5 accounted for 32.8%, surpassing BA.2 (25.0%), which previously dominated domestically. Recently, Harvard Medical School and Boston Medical Center in the U.S. published research showing that BA.4 and BA.5 can easily infect people with prior COVID-19 infection history and those fully vaccinated.

The BA.5-centered variant spread is causing case increases in Germany and Israel, where BA.5 prevalence is about 10%, similar to Korea. In Germany, BA.4 accounts for 2.1% and BA.5 for 10%, with cases rising for three consecutive weeks. In Israel, BA.4 is 5% and BA.5 is 10%, with case numbers increasing over two weeks. In the U.S., where BA.2.12.1 led a resurgence, BA.4 and BA.5 variants are also increasing. The U.S. prevalence rates for BA.4 and BA.5 are 8.3% and 13.3%, respectively.

Korea also has a high prevalence of the BA.2.12.1 variant, similar to the U.S. In the third week of this month, the overseas-imported prevalence of BA.2.12.1 was 26.5%, with an overall prevalence of 4.6%. From the 19th to 25th, it accounted for about 5.4% of total cases. In the U.S., BA.2.12.1 prevalence was 6.9% on April 2 but rose to 64.2% by the 11th of this month.

Health authorities believe that Omicron subvariants are currently spreading within the community. A Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency official stated, “Sporadic or additional transmissions within families have been confirmed in domestic Omicron subvariant infection cases, indicating that some level of community transmission is underway. However, no large-scale cluster outbreaks or significant increases in cases in specific regions have been observed yet.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) is also monitoring the spread of BA.4 and BA.5. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on the 29th (local time), “COVID-19 is driven by BA.4 and BA.5, with cases increasing in 110 countries. Although global numbers remain relatively stable, deaths have increased in three of the six WHO regions.”