The resurgence of COVID-19 in South Korea is being driven by the rapid spread of the omicron subvariant BA.5, which now accounts for 35 percent of infections nationwide.

Despite a slight drop in the share of BA.5 cases last week as reported by the Central Disease Control Headquarters on Tuesday, imported cases of the subvariant surged by over 20 percent during the same period to account for 70 percent of all cases detected in arrivals.

A senior official at the agency said that although it is too early to tell if and when BA.5 will become the dominant strain in the country, the portion of subvariant cases will continue to grow with the rising number of imported cases.

Concerns are mounting that soaring BA.5 cases will lead to another huge wave of COVID-19 in the nation this summer. 

BA.5 is highly transmissible and able to evade immunity, resulting in the subvariant triggering a major spike in infections in Europe and the U.S.