First Confirmed Case of Omicron Variant Detected in Korea

Five cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 were reported in Korea, Wednesday, the first infections here by the mutation which is believed to be more transmissible than the Delta variant and potentially resistant to current vaccines.

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.

The South Korean government said it would conduct genome sequencing on all people who test positive for COVID-19 after coming here from abroad to check for the Omicron variant, adding that all arrivals ― both foreign and Korean nationals ― will be quarantined for 10 days regardless of their vaccination history, starting Friday.