Second case of Centaurus variant confirmed in Korea

People wait in line to get tested for Covid-19 at a testing center in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, Thursday. [YONHAP]

A second case of the BA.2.75 variant of Covid-19, dubbed Centaurus, was confirmed in Korea Thursday.

“An additional patient infected with the BA.2.75 variant was confirmed today,” an official of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters said Thursday morning.

The patient arrived in Korea from India on July 5 and tested positive for Covid-19 on July 7.

The first case of the variant in the country was reported a week ago.

The BA.2.75 has eight more spike gene mutants compared to the BA.2 variant, which means that it binds to cells more effectively and evades antibodies formed by vaccines. It is more transmittable than the BA.5 variant, which is currently emerging as the dominant variant in Korea.

The Centaurus variant was first discovered in India in May this year, and has been spreading rapidly throughout Europe and the United States.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]