Mutant virus infection UK-South Africa and 10 people … Regional expansion concerns (total)

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Cases of infection with the mutant virus, prevalent in the UK and South Africa, have been confirmed one after another in Korea, prompting an emergency to respond to the quarantine.

In particular, one of those infected with a UK-native mutant virus with 1.7 times the transmitting power has visited a multipurpose facility before being confirmed, raising concerns that it has already spread to the community.

◇ One of those infected with a mutation from the UK visits a beauty salon and a market 3-4 days before diagnosis … “There are no confirmed cases among contacts yet”

According to the Central Defense Countermeasures Headquarters (Bangdaebon) on the 2nd, a total of 10 confirmed domestic cases are currently infected with the mutant virus.

Nine of them were infected with a mutant virus originating from the UK and one from South Africa.

Quarantine authorities have tightened quarantine measures for all foreign immigrants to block the influx of mutant viruses into the country, and most of those infected were identified during the quarantine process and immediately quarantined.

A typical example is that of a woman in her twenties who entered Korea on the 24th of the same month as three members of her family who entered the country on the 22nd of last month. All were identified during the quarantine process.

However, it is difficult to completely rule out the possibility of community transmission with respect to four other family members infected with the UK mutant virus.

Notably, one in three family members who became additionally infected on the same day entered the country in November last year, and was confirmed to be out of self-isolation.

The confirmed person was released from quarantine on November 22 last year, two weeks after entering the country, and has since been confirmed to have visited multipurpose facilities such as hospitals, beauty salons and markets. It is known that the visit time to the facility was 3 to 4 days before being confirmed.

In this regard, Sook-young Lim, general manager of the situation, said in a regular briefing of the day: “This person was confirmed on December 27, but it was confirmed that he had contacted other people in the community before the confirmation”. ) There were no confirmed cases ”.

◇ Authorities “Check during airport quarantine and self-isolation … strictly apply standards such as fever testing”

In addition to these families, a confirmed case of infection with the British mutant virus was confirmed during self-isolation.

According to Bang Dae-bon, the confirmed person arrived at Incheon International Airport on the 19th of last month and was confirmed by a prosecutor within three days of entry. As a result of the investigation, it was found that the confirmed person entered the country alone and immediately moved home.

Bang Dae-bon is further investigating whether or not the confirmed person has been in contact with the aircraft.

South Africa’s first mutant virus infection was also found during the quarantine stage.

“The confirmed person arrived in Korea on December 26, and a fever symptom was confirmed during the quarantine stage, and the test was conducted at the airport,” said Kwak-jin, head of the patient management team, Dae-bon Bang.

In the case of this confirmed case, there was a companion when entering Korea from South Africa via the United Arab Emirates (UAE), but it was confirmed together during the quarantine stage, Bang Daebon said.

“Currently, steps are being taken to strengthen the quarantine process for those arriving from South Africa and the United Kingdom, and the inspection standards for fever are stricter than those for other entrants,” Lim said emphasizing that he is paying attention to blocking the entry of viruses.

The government has previously restricted the issuance of new visas to travelers from the UK and South Africa since the 29th of last month, and flights out of the UK have been suspended until the 7th.

In addition, it has been obliged to present a ‘negative confirmation’ of genetic amplification (PCR) issued within 72 hours of the departure date for all foreigners who enter the country through the airport from the 8th and the port from the day 15.

◇ Experts “More cases of entry of mutant viruses will increase”

Experts predict that the influx of mutant viruses will increase despite successive government measures to strengthen the quarantine.

The possibility of influx into Korea is said to have increased as related infected people are showing up one after another in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas, as well as the UK and South Africa, where the virus was first discovered. mutant.

Eun-mi Chun, a professor of respiratory internal medicine at Ewha Women’s University Mokdong Hospital, predicted that “(the quarantine authorities so far) have found only 10 cases, and I think there will be more.”

Kim Woo-joo, professor of infectious medicine at Korea University Guro Hospital, also said, “There is a possibility that there will be more in the future.”

According to Bang Dae-bon, there were 32 confirmed arrivals from the UK from October to December last year and 8 confirmed arrivals from South Africa. Among them, except in cases where analysis was impossible, a full genome analysis of 23 and 7 patients, respectively, was performed to determine whether they were infected with the mutant virus, Bang said.

◇ Controversy over self-isolation goals and guidelines for living in a family … Increased risk of family infection

Meanwhile, despite explanations from quarantine authorities, concerns about the possibility of spreading the mutant virus to the region do not disappear.

In particular, it is noted whether there is a problem with the current ‘flexible’ self-isolation guidelines, as spread between families is also occurring, as seen in the case of a family member infected with the UK mutant virus .

A family member of infected persons who visited a multipurpose facility before testing positive is presumed to have become infected while staying in the same home as the family members who first entered Korea.

In this regard, Director Lim explained: “In the current self-isolation guidelines, it is possible to live in a house (with a person subject to self-isolation). However, it is required to separate the traffic lines and use separate bathrooms to follow the guidelines.” .

He replied, “There are practical limitations,” he said. “Advocacy and education will be needed to ensure that the separation of traffic lines and the use of restrooms are strictly observed.”

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