Health authorities say the omicron variant of COVID-19 could become the dominant strain in the country within one to two months.

Lee Sang-won of the Central Disease Control Headquarters gave the projection in a Monday briefing, noting that preventive measures can delay that time a little longer.

Lee said omicron was spreading fast. Of 178 confirmed and ten suspected cases to date, 54 were from overseas. Nearly 20 percent had no symptoms and those who did were mostly mild, such as fever, coughing and sore throat.

The family infection rate of omicron patients is 44-point-seven percent, more than double the 20 percent for the delta strain. Also, the number of cases among people who had received booster shots has risen to five.