Mutant virus’a total of 51 people’… As a deterrent primer for the Lunar New Year holidays

51 confirmed by the 6th day of the mutant virus

[아시아경제 김지희 기자] Ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays when a large population movement is expected, cases of corona 19 mutant virus infection with high transmission power are increasing.

According to the Central Defense Response Headquarters (Bang Daebon), a total of 51 people infected with the mutant virus were confirmed in Korea until the 6th. Among them, 37 people were infected with mutations from the UK, and 9 and 5 people were infected with mutations from South Africa and Brazil, respectively.

In particular, as cases of mutant virus infection are confirmed one after another this month, the quarantine authorities are also tense. Four mutant viruses were confirmed on the 3rd, and 12 were added on the previous day. The preceding four cases were related to group infection with relatives of foreigners in Gyeongnam and Jeonnam, but the additional infection cases are separate cases unrelated to this.

The estimated number of foreign countries of the mutant virus introduced into Korea has been expanded to a total of 18 countries. Britain, UAE, Brazil, Tanzania, South Africa (South Africa), Ghana, Nigeria, Norway, Malawi, Maldives, Iraq, China, Zimbabwe, Canada, Poland, France, Hungary, and Syria. Twelve cases of mutant virus infections confirmed on the 6th were confirmed by immigrants from the UAE, Nigeria, Norway, Hungary, Iraq, France, China, Poland and Tanzania.

First, Bang Dae-bon plans to strengthen monitoring and surveillance for mutant viruses. Lee Sang-won, director of epidemiological investigation and analysis, said in a briefing the day before, “Full-length genome analysis to discriminate mutant viruses is a scientific analysis technology that requires experts to analyze 30,000 gene bases with considerable time and cost. It is different from the amplification (PCR) technique,” he said. “We are conducting full-length genome analysis on 10-20% of confirmed patients entering Korea from countries where mutant viruses have been reported.”

Bang Dae-bon is scheduled to announce on the 8th as to whether or not additional mutant viruses have been confirmed after the 6th.

Reporter Kim Ji-hee [email protected]