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| Foreign visitors in protective gear are seen in the arrival area of Incheon International Airport, Wednesday, when the nation's first Omicron variant case was confirmed. Yonhap |
COVID-19 situation getting out of control; daily virus cases top 5,000
By Bahk Eun-ji
Five cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 were reported in Korea, Wednesday, the first infections here by the variant which is believed to be more transmissible than the Delta variant and potentially resistant to current vaccines.
The government said it would conduct genome sequencing on all people who test positive for COVID-19 after coming here from abroad to check for the Omicron variant, adding that all arrivals ― both foreign and Korean nationals ― will be quarantined for 10 days regardless of their vaccination history, starting Friday.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said it had confirmed the five variant cases in a single day. A married couple who arrived from Nigeria, Nov. 24, and tested positive for COVID-19 the next day, was confirmed to have the new variant following genome sequencing.
Besides the couple who had been fully vaccinated, a friend who gave them a ride from the airport to their home also contracted the variant. The friend was not vaccinated.
The couple's teenage son and three others ― the friend's two family members and an acquaintance ― also tested positive but the genome sequencing of their tests hasn't come out yet.
Separately from the cases related to the couple, two more people, women in their 50s who arrived here on Nov. 23 from Nigeria, were also confirmed to have the Omicron variant, according to the KDCA.
The five people confirmed to have the variant are not exhibiting any specific symptoms that are different from the Delta strain which is most prevalent here.
While the couple have been in quarantine since Nov. 25, their son and the friend went about their daily lives until they tested positive, Nov. 30, so the government is concerned of possible community transmissions by them.
The authorities are also examining the other 45 passengers who arrived here on the same flight as the couple.
According to Japanese media reports, Japan's first Omicron confirmed patient ― a diplomat from Namibia ― entered Japan via Incheon International Airport.
The government is discussing more measures to prevent the inflow of the Omicron variant, and as a part of them, it added Nigeria to an entry ban list. Previously the ban was applied to eight countries ― Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, Malawi and South Africa.
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| Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae, right, and Jeong Eun-kyeong, chief of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, encourages parents to have their children vaccinated as infections at schools are increasing, during a briefing at the Government Complex Sejong, Wednesday. Yonhap |
Even without the spread of Omicron, the COVID-19 situation in Korea is deteriorating to a level that is nearly out of control, with the number of new infections, critical cases and deaths soaring.
The KDCA reported that there had been 5,123 new infections nationwide, Tuesday, the highest number since the first was diagnosed Jan. 20 last year, and up by more than 1,000 from the previous record of 4,115 a week ago.
The number of critically ill patients reached 723, also the highest ever and up from 661 the previous day, while 34 people died.
In the meantime, the education and health authorities have jointly urged parents to have their children vaccinated as the number of new infections among students is increasing along with full-scale in-person classes.
"We have started the full resumption of in-person classes but it has come to a crossroads again," Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae said in a press conference at the Government Complex Sejong.
Warning schools may have to switch to online classes if the situation at schools get worse, Yoo said, "School is not just a place where classes are held, but a space where children live their daily lives. So when schools are closed, our children's daily lives will be completely disrupted."
In order to increase the vaccination rate for children aged between 12 and 17, the vaccination period for the age group, which was scheduled to end Nov. 27, will be extended until Jan. 22.
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