South Korea confirmed its first cases of a more contagious variant of COVID-19, first identified in the United Kingdom.
The Korean Disease Control and Prevention Agency said on Monday that the cases were confirmed in a family of three who came to South Korea on December 22.
Workers wearing protective equipment disinfect chairs as a precaution against coronavirus in the Arrivals Hall of Incheon International Airport in Incheon, South Korea, Monday, December 28, 2020. South Korea confirmed its first cases of a more contagious disease of COVID-19 that was first identified in the UK. (Kim Sun-woong / Newsis via AP)
They arrived the day before South Korea stopped air travel from Britain until December 31 to protect itself against the new version of the virus.
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The three people, residing in the United Kingdom, are quarantined in South Korea.
South Korea registered 808 new cases of coronavirus on Monday, increasing its number of national cases to 57,680 with 819 deaths. It is the second consecutive day that South Korea’s daily count is less than 1,000. The country recorded 1,241 cases on Christmas Day, the biggest daily jump in South Korea since the pandemic began, and 1,132 on Saturday.
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In the past few weeks, South Korea has faced a sudden increase in infections related to hospitals, nursing homes, churches, a prison, family reunions and several other locations. The government said on Sunday it would spend another week before determining whether to apply its stricter physical distance rules in the Seoul metropolitan area, which officials fear will further damage the economy.