South Korea says Omicron variant 75% less likely to kill than Delta strain

Real world data released on Monday by South Korea's health authorities showed that People infected with the Omicron coronavirus variant are nearly 75 per cent less likely to develop serious illness or die than those who contract the Delta variant.

A study by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) of some 67,200 infections confirmed since December showed the Omicron variant's severity and death rates averaged 0.38 per cent and 0.18 per cent, respectively, compared with 1.4 per cent and 0.7 per cent for the Delta cases.


The KDCA classed severe cases as people who were hospitalised in intensive care units.

Around 56 per cent of 1,073 people who died over the past five weeks were either unvaccinated or had received only one dose, the study showed, with people aged 60 or older accounting for 94 per cent of deaths.

Reuters reported that the Omicron variant has led to a surge in cases - daily new infections topped a record 100,000 last week - but authorities have pushed ahead with slightly easing social distancing rules amid the lower fatality rate and ahead of a presidential election next month.
©Photo: Bloomberg