NewsDesk  @infectiousdiseasenews

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported today (computer translated) on five confirmed Omicron variant cases.

Image/Robert Herriman

A married couple who arrived from Nigeria, Nov. 24, and tested positive for COVID-19 the next day, was confirmed to have the new variant following genome sequencing.

Besides the couple who had been fully vaccinated, a friend who gave them a ride from the airport to their home also contracted the variant. The friend was not vaccinated.

The couple’s teenage son and three others ― the friend’s two family members and an acquaintance ― also tested positive but the genome sequencing of their tests hasn’t come out yet.

Separately from the cases related to the couple, two more people, women in their 50s who arrived here on Nov. 23 from Nigeria, were also confirmed to have the Omicron variant, according to the KDCA.

The government organized the “New Mutation Response Pan-Ministry Task Force” and held the first meeting today for a quick response to block the inflow of Omicron mutations and prevent domestic transmission.

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The pan-ministerial task force to respond to new mutations is headed by the head of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is composed of high-ranking public officials at the relevant department level.

Regular and occasional meetings will be held once a week to discuss cross-ministerial countermeasures to identify overseas trends, block foreign inflows, monitor and analyze mutations. It will be implemented as soon as possible after reporting to the task force headquarters.