Reporting 28 more coronavirus infections on Monday, South Korea also said it had found three new cases of “mutated genome sequences” of the virus.
“Genetic mutations were detected to spike protein, the major surface protein of the virus, from the three coronavirus imported cases – two from Pakistan and one from Uzbekistan,” the Yonhap News Agency reported.
THE COUNTRY HAS DONE 1.6 MILLION TESTS SO FAR
Health authorities said the new mutations found were different from 78,810 viral genome sequences registered by the World Health Organization’s GISAID database.
GISAID is a global science initiative and primary source for genomic data on influenza viruses and the novel coronavirus responsible for coronavirus.
South Korea’s new coronavirus infections fell below 30 on Monday as imported cases slowed, but church-traced infections continued to strain the country’s anti-virus fight.
The country’s Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said the 28 new cases over the last 24 hours, including 17 local infections, brought the national caseload to 14,626.
A total of 305 people have died due to the COVID-19 in the country.