S. Korea reports first local transmission of South African variant of COVID-19

A man gets tested for COVID-19 Monday at a temporary screening center at Seoul Station. (Yonhap News)

South Korean health authorities reported the first case of local transmission of the South African variant of COVID-19.

Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency Commissioner Jung Eun-kyeong said in a Monday press briefing that the agency last week “conducted 537 DNA analyses and found 22 variant cases among 494 domestic cases … and 19 variant cases among 43 imported cases, making the total 41.”

Since last October, South Korea has reported 330 COVID-19 variant cases, with 280 of them being the British variant, 42 South African and eight Brazilian.

“Last week, there were 22 variant cases among domestic transmissions and 12 of them were linked to previously confirmed cluster infections. […] Five of them were the first cases of domestic transmission of the South African variant,” Jung added.

“British variant cases were also confirmed at a shipping center in Seoul and a courier company in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province.”

By Kim Ji-hoon, staff reporter

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