The BA.5 subvariant of omicron is on track to quickly become the dominant COVID-19 strain in South Korea.

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters on Tuesday, the number of BA.5 cases surged by over 23 percent during the second week of July from the first week to account for 47-point-two percent of domestic transmissions. When combined with imported infections, the proportion of BA.5 cases has already surpassed 50 percent.

A senior health official at the headquarters projected the number of BA.5 cases will continue to rise amid a continual increase in imported cases.

The highly transmissible and immunity-evading BA.5 strain is leading another big wave of COVID-19 in the nation, taking only about eight weeks to account for almost half of all cases in the country, with daily caseloads doubling from week to week.