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Today (18th), the number of new corona cases is expected to be around 4,000. The spread is slowing right now, but I'm concerned about the speed at which the omicron mutation is spreading. The quarantine authorities are predicting that it will become the dominant species by this weekend, but then the number of confirmed cases may increase again.
Correspondent Kim Deok-hyun.
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The first confirmed case of omicron mutation in Gwangju was on the 18th of last month.
In the first month since then, the weekly number of confirmed cases has more than doubled.
Omicron mutations account for 80% of confirmed cases.
In neighboring Jeollanam-do, 7 out of 10 confirmed cases in the last full month were found to be Omicron.
As local community infections continued centered on non-metropolitan regions such as Honam, where Omicron has already become the dominant species, the detection rate of Omicron in Korea, which was around 1% at the end of last month, also jumped to 26.7%.
The quarantine authorities are expecting the share of Omicron to exceed 50% by this weekend.
While social distancing has been partially eased, such as the increase in the number of people at private gatherings, the spread of Omicron can increase the number of new confirmed cases by 20,000 at the end of next month and up to 30,000 at the end of March. are doing
When the Omicron response system begins, the self-quarantine period will be reduced from the current 10 days to 7 days.
Corona patient testing and treatment will be extended to local hospitals, and asymptomatic persons under the age of 65 will receive rapid antigen testing first.
The government has urged people to actively vaccinate, as the probability of serious illness is lowered by 80% for those who have completed the second dose and up to 90% for those who have completed the third dose compared to those who have not been vaccinated.