Three returnees infected: British virus variant confirmed in South Korea

Monday 28 December 2020

Three returnees infected
British virus variant confirmed in South Korea

While South Korea is currently fighting the third wave of Covid, three people in the country are testing positive for the new Corona variant from Great Britain. The infected were previously in the UK.

Cases of the coronavirus mutation discovered in Great Britain have been detected in South Korea. According to the disease protection agency, these are three Korean citizens who flew back to South Korea from Great Britain last week.

The new variant of the coronavirus may be significantly more contagious than the previously known form. Most EU states decided last week to largely restrict travel to and from Great Britain temporarily.

The South Korean government also announced on December 23 that it would stop all air traffic to and from Great Britain until the end of the year. In addition, the authorities obliged travelers from Great Britain to a 14-day quarantine and an additional virus test shortly before the end of the quarantine.

It was only at the weekend that it became known that the new virus mutation had also been detected in France. The virus was found in a French who had previously traveled from the United Kingdom, as the Ministry of Health announced in Paris. A first case of the virus mutation was discovered in Baden-Württemberg on Thursday.

South Korea has gotten through the pandemic relatively lightly, but is currently in the middle of a third wave of Covid. At the start of the week, the authorities registered 808 new infections within the last 24 hours. For the second time in a row, the figure fell below 1,000 infections per day. By January 3, the government tightened epidemiological measures. Among other things, meetings of more than four people are prohibited in the greater Seoul area.