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The government announced on the 30th that a confirmed case of COVID-19 who entered Nigeria was suspected of being infected with the Omicron mutation and is currently under investigation. The related results will be announced in the late afternoon on December 1st.
Meanwhile, the quarantine authorities have formed a cross-ministerial task force (TF) team to discuss countermeasures against the inflow of Omicron into Korea.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said in a press release on the same day, “The omicron mutation was suspected in a couple living in Incheon, who visited Nigeria on the 14th and 23rd, and full genome testing is in progress to confirm the mutation.”
On the 28th of last month, after completing the Moderna vaccine, the couple returned to Nigeria after visiting Nigeria.
After that, as a result of contact tracing, an acquaintance of a male in his 40s who traveled together from the airport to his home and a family member in his teens were additionally confirmed on the 30th.
However, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) conducted a mutated PCR test on an acquaintance who was additionally confirmed this morning. There are a total of four confirmed cases, but the Omicron confirmed test is in progress for couples and acquaintances with samples.
The related results will be confirmed later on December 1st. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also tracking other passengers on the same plane as the couple.
Meanwhile, the government held an emergency meeting on the afternoon of the 30th to check the status of Omicron mutation and its response.
The government formed a pan-ministerial task force to preemptively discuss the prevention of domestic inflow of Omicron and countermeasures, and the meeting will begin in earnest. The task force consists of officials from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Ministry of Welfare, the Office of Government Coordination, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice.
The task force will focus on Δ measures to strengthen management of foreign inflows such as quarantine, Δ measures to strengthen monitoring of domestic outbreaks and spreads, Δ measures to strengthen quarantine response such as epidemiological investigations upon entry into the country, and Δ measures to strengthen patient management.
Omicron mutation is characterized by twice as many spike protein mutations on the surface of Corona 19 virus than delta mutations. The spike protein covering the viral surface is responsible for binding to the host cell.
The large number of mutations in the spike protein region means that it can be highly contagious. Some experts believe that it is possible not only to have a higher transmission power than the delta mutation, but also to have immune evasion against existing vaccines.
Currently, Korea has banned entry of foreigners to South Africa and eight neighboring countries, where Omicron is mainly occurring, and Koreans have been quarantined for 10 days. Nigeria, where the suspected case visited this time, is out of the omicron mutation risk country.
According to the quarantine authorities, the PCR test conducted in Korea can confirm whether a mutated person is confirmed to have COVID-19, but to test for the mutation, the entire gene must be analyzed (whole genome analysis), which takes more time than the PCR test.
The government is also conducting full genome analysis of two confirmed patients, one who arrived from the Netherlands on the 28th and one who arrived from Germany on the 29th.
Omicron was first reported in Botswana on the 11th and has now spread to 18 countries including South Africa, Hong Kong, Belgium, Czech Republic, Austria, Israel, UK, Italy, Netherlands, Germany, Australia, Denmark, Canada, Portugal, Sweden, Spain and Japan. has spread
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