Concerns growing over spread of COVID-19 variants

Quarantine officials wearing protective clothes guide passengers in the arrivals area of Incheon International Airport, Feb. 3. Yonhap

By Bahk Eun-ji

The health authorities are raising the alarm over the growing number of infections here from COVID-19 variants that are believed to be transmitted faster.

As domestic transmission of the variants has been confirmed, and the number of people from countries with the variants coming to Korea is growing, experts say vaccination should begin immediately, starting with key groups, including medical workers and the elderly.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 12 new variant cases, Sunday raising the total of such cases to 51. Of them, 37 people were infected with the variant first detected in the United Kingdom, nine were linked to the South African variant, and five were infected with the Brazil variant.

People with the variants did not all come from those three countries but from 18 ― the U.K., Brazil, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Nigeria, Hungary, Iraq, France, China, Poland, Syria, Ghana, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Canada, Norway, Maldives and Malawi ― making quarantine work more difficult for the health authorities.

The government introduced more stringent entry rules for people from abroad, such as mandatory submission of a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test result for all foreigners, but experts say that there is a limit in blocking the domestic transmission of such variants.

The domestic transmission of variants apparently started with a man infected with the U.K. variant transmitting it to four of his relatives here last month.

“No matter how well they are quarantined during the airport screening procedures, there are people who do not show symptoms as well as having longer incubation periods, and there are also people who don't abide by the self-quarantine rule,” said Chon Eun-mi, a professor at the Department of Pulmonology of Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital.

“We can say that domestic transmission within the local community has already started,” Chon said.

According to the KDCA, the country added 372 more COVID-19 cases, including 326 local infections, for Saturday, raising the total accumulated number to 80,896.

The daily coronavirus cases were under 400 for the third consecutive day, with the country set to ease social distancing measures outside the greater Seoul area beginning today.

Restaurants, cafes and gyms will be allowed to stay open until 10 p.m., a one hour extension from the current closing time of 9 p.m. But the ban on gatherings of five or more people will continue through Feb. 14.