China News Service, April 19. According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korea’s Central Epidemic Prevention and Control Headquarters said on the 19th that there have been 2 cases of XE and 1 case of XM cases infected with the new coronavirus recombinant strain in South Korea recently. The ministry said on the 12th that the first case of infection with the new coronavirus recombinant strain XL was found in South Korea.
On March 17, local time, people wear masks to prevent the new coronavirus at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea.
The South Korean epidemic prevention department stated that although these cases had suspected symptoms in the early stage of infection, they did not show symptoms different from those of the existing virus, and they have all been released from isolation.
According to the report, it is worth noting that since one case of XE and one case of XM occurred in South Korea, the possibility that these two recombinant strains were naturally generated in the country cannot be ruled out.
The Korean epidemic prevention department also stated that considering that the World Health Organization (WHO) classifies recombinant strains such as XE and XM as generalized Omicron virus, its characteristics are expected to be basically similar to Omicron. However, there is no analysis data on the transmission power of XE and XM and the severe rate of infection after infection, so the epidemic prevention department will continue to increase monitoring efforts.
Starting from the 18th, South Korea has fully lifted social distancing measures such as business hours for public gathering places and limited personnel for private gatherings. However, the authorities will still maintain the public’s obligation to wear masks.
South Korea’s Central Epidemic Prevention and Control Headquarters reported on the 19th that as of 0:00 that day, South Korea had 118,504 new confirmed cases of new crowns and 130 new deaths compared with 0:00 the previous day.