SEOUL: South Korean officials are vowing to hurry up efforts to launch a public COVID-19 vaccination program because the nation on Monday (Dec 28) introduced it had detected its first instances of the coronavirus variant linked to the fast rise in infections in Britain.
The new variant, regarded as more transmissible than others currently circulating, was found in three individuals who had entered South Korea from London on Dec 22, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) stated on Monday.
They’ve been placed in isolation since testing positive for COVID-19 on arrival, stated the KDCA.
The new coronavirus strain emerged earlier this month in Britain and has already reached several European nations, even in Canada, Jordan, and Japan.
The new strain, which specialists fear is more contagious, prompted more than 50 international locations to impose journey restrictions on Britain. South Korea was amongst them and has barred flights from Britain till the end of the yr.
South Korean authorities are also looking into the case of an aged South Korean man who posthumously tested positive for COVID-19 after coming back from Britain earlier this month.
Overall the KDCA reported 808 new cases as of midnight Sunday, the lowest since a record 1,241 infections had been logged on Friday.
Authorities cautioned that the drop could also be due to less testing performed over the weekend and the Christmas vacation, and stated on Sunday they’d be extending social distancing measures till early January.
South Korea’s government has faced mounting domestic criticism over its vaccine procurement and rollout plans, which call for the first vaccinations to start within the first quarter of the next yr, months after locations such as the USA and the European Union.
Negative views of the vaccine plans were one of the main causes that drove President Moon Jae-in’s disapproval ranking to an all-time high of practically 60 percent, pollster Realmeter stated on Monday.
Regulators will shorten the period required to approve vaccines and coverings from an average of 180 days to as little as 40 days, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on Sunday.
A further approval process for the distribution and sale of vaccines, which often takes a number of months, can be shortened to around 20 days, the ministry stated.
Medical staff and aged residents will start receiving the vaccinations in February and plan to vaccinate the broader public is accelerating, presidential chief of staff Noh Young-min stated Sunday.
“The government is doing all it may advance this time-frame and is also making progress,” he stated.
South Korea has stated it plans to purchase sufficient doses to eventually vaccinate 46 million individuals or more than 85 percent of its population.
Noh stated authorities expected South Korea’s population to reach a level of herd immunity via the vaccines as fast or faster than many different nations.
South Korea has reported a total of 57,680 coronavirus cases, with 819 deaths.
