People stand in line to undergo COVID-19 testing at a temporary screening station at Seoul Olympic Stadium in southern Seoul on Monday. (Yonhap)
South Korea on Monday reported 31 more new cases of major COVID-19 variants, including 12 local infections, prompting health authorities to stay on guard against the spread of the more transmissible strains here.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said 24 people were confirmed to have been infected with the British variant, and seven tested positive for the South African strain, raising the total to 213.
Among them, 12 were Korean nationals infected with the British variant in different regions, including South and North Gyeongsang Provinces and Gyeonggi Province, the KDCA said.
Health authorities expressed worries over rising domestic transmission of the more transmissible variants, vowing to expand monitoring on the patients and analysis of the mutations.
Aside from the three most-known mutations from Britain, South Africa and Brazil, the KDCA said it has discovered 75 cases of other "emerging" variants of the novel virus since December, including those from the United States and Mexico.
Together, the total number of COVID-19 variant cases rises to 288, the agency said.
South Korea has once again extended the ban on passenger flights arriving from Britain, which has been in place since Dec. 23, until April 1 to block the new virus variant that was first identified there.
Also, all entrants, both foreigners and locals, have been required to present certificates of negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests taken within 72 hours of their departure for South Korea since late February.
On Monday, the country reported 382 more COVID-19 cases, raising the total caseload to 96,107, the KDCA said. (Yonhap)