MORE VIRUS VARIANT CASES REPORTED

[Anchor Lead]

Two more cases of COVID-19 variant that originated in the United Kingdom were found in Korea. More concerning is that a family member of one patient visited several establishments before getting a positive test result. Health officials have begun to take more thorough measures to oversee those who came in contact with him in order to prevent further local transmissions of the COVID-19 variant.

[Pkg]

A man in his 80s, who had arrived from the United Kingdom, collapsed in front of his home on December 26th. He tested positive for COVID-19 after he died at the hospital. A DNA analysis confirmed that the virus was a variant that originated in the U.K. Three other family members, who also flew in from the U.K., were staying at the same house and they also tested positive. A further test to see whether they are infected with the variant is underway. The deceased man’s wife and daughter arrived in Korea on the same flight on December 13th. They did not go anywhere else since they were in quarantine at home. But his son-in-law, who had entered the country on November 8th and released from isolation after receiving a negative outcome... visited a hospital, a hair salon, and a supermarket in Ilsan and came in closecontact with three people. He was confirmed of COVID-19 in a test he underwent after his family was found to have been infected. Health officials explained that the son-in-law was most likely infected by his family members and in that case, they probably have the same virus. Seven other people, including a resident and the paramedics, came in contact with the deceased man during transport.

[Soundbite] (WITNESS(VOICE MODIFIED)) : "A man was administering CPR. Both of them had masks on, but the old man didn't. That was when paramedics in protective gear came and said that he was under quarantine."

What the health authorities are most concerned about is local transmissions. To prevent a further spread in local communities, authorities are tightly monitoring those who came in contact with the deceased elderly and his son-in-law. Fortunately, no one among them has yet to test positive for COVID-19. Meanwhile, a woman in her 20s was found to be infected with the COVID-19 variant, bringing the total number of locals infected with this variant to five.