Sejong, Increase in COVID-19 Cases... Education Sector on Alert Amid Community Spread Concerns

Infographic of COVID-19 confirmed cases (#1~8) in Sejong area as of the 9th. Provided by Sejong City.

[Asia Economy (Sejong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Concerns over the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) are intensifying in the Sejong area, which had been relatively quiet until now. In addition to the possibility of community transmission linked to a Zumba dance studio, there is growing anxiety that academies and private institutes could become new routes for the spread of infection in the community. In this regard, Sejong City and the Sejong City Office of Education have appealed for private educational facilities to participate in blocking infectious diseases.

◆ Cumulative COVID-19 confirmed cases reach 10, linked to Zumba and music academies = According to the city on the 10th, a total of 10 people in Sejong have been confirmed positive for COVID-19 as of that day.

The first confirmed case in the region was a man in his 30s residing in Geumnam-myeon, who came up from Daegu and was working on apartment repairs in the area. He tested positive for COVID-19 on the 22nd of last month. This man was found to be a member of Shincheonji Church.

The second confirmed case was reported on the 6th. It came 13 days after the first case, with the confirmed patient (#2, 41-year-old female, Saerom-dong) identified as a Zumba dance instructor who had attended a Zumba dance workshop held in Cheonan on the 15th of last month. Subsequently, between the weekend of the 7th and 8th, six more people were added to the list of confirmed cases in Sejong. Among them, four (#3?6) were found to be students at the Zumba studio.

Additionally, two more confirmed cases reported on the 9th had contact history with the second confirmed patient’s Zumba studio students (a woman in her 50s, Saerom-dong, #4). This raises the possibility of COVID-19 spreading through the Zumba dance studio within the community.

In response, the city is conducting self-quarantine and testing for contacts identified along the confirmed patients’ movement paths to block the spread of COVID-19. First, the city tested 56 Zumba dance students and instructors who had contact with the Zumba instructor (#2), identifying 4 positives and 52 negatives. Also, 61 Ministry of Health and Welfare employees who had contact with student B (20s, female, Ministry of Health and Welfare employee, #3) were tested, all receiving negative results.

While checking infection status among 20 contacts (1 kindergarten student, 9 elementary students, 2 middle school students, 8 adults) who had contact with violin instructor C (#4), on the 10th, the husband of a violin student (#7) in his 50s and a 50s male public official from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, who had no prior connection to confirmed cases, were additionally confirmed positive, further heightening concerns about community transmission.

The city was conducting tests on contacts of confirmed patients #6 to #8 as of the previous day.

◆ Low academy closure rates... a new infection route ‘wild card’ = So far in Sejong, COVID-19 has shown signs of spreading mainly centered around the Zumba dance studio (#2 and others). Confirmed cases have increased among the Zumba dance instructor, students, and their contacts.

There are concerns that local academies and private institutes could emerge as new infection routes in the future. This is consistent with the additional confirmed cases linked to violin instructor C.

Especially, the increase in academies reopening after temporary closure due to COVID-19 because of economic difficulties is fueling these concerns. According to the city and the Sejong City Office of Education, the closure rate of local academies, which was 67% as of the 29th of last month, dropped by 23 percentage points to 44% as of the 9th of this month.

In this context, the city and the Office of Education held a joint press conference the previous day, recommending voluntary closure of academies to prevent and curb the spread of COVID-19.

The city and the Office of Education stated, “In a situation where additional confirmed COVID-19 cases are expected, the closure rate of local academies is paradoxically decreasing. This raises concerns that academies could become a second route of COVID-19 infection.”

They added, “To prevent the unprecedented spread of infectious diseases (COVID-19) and protect student safety, voluntary closure participation by academies and private institutes is urgently needed. We ask for active cooperation from academy officials to protect our children.”

Additionally, both organizations emphasized the role of parents in discouraging youth from visiting multi-use facilities. Following government guidelines delaying the start of elementary, middle, and high schools until the 23rd, they urged parents to guide their children not to visit closed spaces and multi-use facilities such as study rooms, PC rooms, and karaoke rooms during their free time.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.