Concerns rise over possible spread of omicron variant

Dec 03, 2021, 09:20 am

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Foreigners in protective clothing leave the arrival hall at Incheon International Airport on Dec. 2, 2021./ Source: Yonhap

AsiaToday reporters Lee Sun-young

Concerns are rising over additional confirmed cases of the omicron variant as the five patients confirmed with the strain made contact with dozens of people prior to their diagnosis. As the patients were infected regardless of their vaccination status, there are growing concerns that the strain may already be spreading within the local community.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said the number of people who came in close contact with those infected with the omicron variant was 17 for a married couple – a pastor and his wife in their 40s who arrived from Nigeria on Nov. 24 – and 1 for two women who also traveled to Nigeria and returned home on Nov. 23. An Uzbek man in his 30s, a friend of the couple, had a close contact with 50 family members, acquaintances, and business-related people.

It was found later that the couple falsely claimed to have gone home from the airport by taking a special taxi designated to carry suspected coronavirus patients or people waiting for test results. But it was found later that the Uzbek man drove them home in a private vehicle. That left the Uzbek friend out of health authorities’ radar. As a result, 811 church members of a church that the Uzbek man had visited also underwent a test.

According to the Incheon city, the friend voluntarily went to get tested upon hearing of the couple’s infection, which came out negative. But he developed a fever shortly after and was tested again, this time getting a positive result, Nov. 29.

The friend moved around without any restrictions for six days, raising the risk of community spread of the new variant. The day before the Uzbek man tested positive, he attended a program for foreigners at a church in Incheon where more than 400 foreign nationals gathered. Health authorities instructed the churchgoers to get tested.

Health authorities said they are mulling over the option of filing charges of infectious disease prevention law violations against the couple.

Many raised vaccine efficacy doubts as all the confirmed patients except the couple are found to be unvaccinated. In response, KDCA commissioner Jung Eun-kyeong said, “We have suppressed many infection cases during the vaccination project, but the effectiveness has declined over time.”

Of the five confirmed cases, four are asymptomatic cases, while one has a relatively mild fever.

The government has tightened border controls as a series of confirmed cases of omicron have occurred among those who visited Nigeria.

It had already stopped issuing visas and arrivals of non-nationals from eight African countries, and added Nigeria to that list on Wednesday.

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