South Korea records 1st omicron variant death

Health authorities were examining whether another person who died at the Gwangju facility had also been infected with the variant.South Korea has so far confirmed 1,318 cases of the omicron variant.

South Korea says it has confirmed its first death related to the new omicron variant.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said on Monday that the deceased was in their 90s and living at a nursing home in the southern city of Gwangju. It says the person received a second dose of COVID-19 vaccine in October.

A total of 21 people in the facility have tested positive for COVID-19 - three of them with the omicron variant - since the first case was reported there on Dec. 24. It says the patient was posthumously found to have contracted the omicron variant. Health authorities were examining whether another person who died at the Gwangju facility had also been infected with the variant.

South Korea has so far confirmed 1,318 cases of the omicron variant. Experts say it will likely soon replace the delta variant to become dominant in South Korea.