SEOUL, Dec 28 (NNN-YONHAP) – South Korea’s health authorities said today that, it detected the country’s first cases of more transmissible COVID-19 variant infections from entrants from Britain.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), said that, three South Korean nationals, who stayed in London and arrived here on Dec 22, tested positive for the new COVID-19 strain.
The three were confirmed with the virus when they took tests on arrival, and have been under quarantine.
Four other South Koreans, who arrived here on Nov 8 and Dec 13 from Britain, tested positive for the virus and have been under investigation whether they were infected with the new variant.
Among them, one man in his 80’s was posthumously tested positive for COVID-19. His three other family members were infected with the virus.
The new strain, found in Britain, is known to be up to 70 percent more transmissible than the old one. South Korea suspends all flights from Britain, between Dec 23 and Dec 31.
In the latest tally, the country reported 808 more cases in the past 24 hours, raising the total number of infections to 57,680. The daily caseload stayed below 1,000 for two days, amid fewer tests over the weekend.
