Seoul Is Just Getting Started... Academies and Gyms Opening One After Another

Concerns Over Second Nationwide Wave Including Guro Call Center
Experts Say "Social Distancing Remains Effective"
Warnings to Be Careful in Multi-Use Facilities Persist
Awareness Collapses Amid Decline in New Cases

Private Academies Resume Normal Classes After Closure
Sports Centers Crowded Again
Increased Attendance at Daycare Centers

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] Choi (50, Jongno-gu, Seoul), who has a child in the second year of high school, decided to send the child to a private academy starting next week. Due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the academy had decided to suspend classes, and the child had been self-studying for over two weeks, but Choi judged that they could no longer postpone the new semester studies. After consulting with other parents and the academy instructors, they made the decision because it was a small class.

Lee (48), who works near Euljiro, Seoul, visited his usual health club after work on the 10th and witnessed a 'completely changed' scene. Over the past few weeks, there had been few users, so he was able to exercise comfortably, but seeing the suddenly increased number of people, he decided to turn back due to concerns about COVID-19. Lee said, "I think it's because of the government's announcement that the spread has subsided."

As news that the spread of COVID-19 has somewhat eased is being reported, private academies and sports centers are gradually reopening. This is due to the alignment of users' demands and the business interests of the operators.

According to the academy industry on the 11th, a comprehensive cram school for college entrance exam retakers in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, resumed normal operations from the 9th after a two-week closure. An academy official said, "We decided to resume normal classes due to many inquiries from students who want to come and study at the academy and demands from parents," adding, "Since it is a cram school where urgent study is needed, the number of students attending is not significantly different from before the COVID-19 outbreak." Nearby tutoring academies have also recently reopened. Although the number of students is lower than before COVID-19 due to infection concerns, quite a few students attend for self-study. It was reported that among five tutoring academies checked in the Daechi-dong area that day, three had resumed operations.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The situation is similar at sports centers. A yoga studio in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, partially resumed classes on the 9th after suspending them since the 25th of last month. Measures were put in place to minimize contact between students by extending the interval between sessions to two hours and recommending the wearing of masks and gloves. However, some members are opposing this. Ji (39), an office worker attending this yoga studio, said, "There was even a cluster infection centered around Zumba dance academies, so who would come to a yoga studio in this situation?" and added, "Although safety measures have been prepared, it seems they hurriedly reopened for business reasons."

At daycare centers, which have been closed since the 25th of last month except for emergency childcare, the number of children attending has recently increased. A daycare center in Gaepo-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, had about four children attending for emergency childcare last month, but this week the number increased to 15. The daycare closure is scheduled until the 22nd of this month. The director of this daycare center predicted, "Many parents have no suitable place to leave their children, so the number of attendees will increase further once normal operations begin."

The reopening of multi-use facilities one after another seems to be due to a significant decrease in the number of new confirmed cases, which has somewhat eased citizens' vigilance. However, since concerns about a nationwide second wave, such as the cluster infection at a call center in Guro-gu, Seoul, are emerging, experts point out that 'social distancing' must be maintained for the time being. Yoon Tae-ho, head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters' quarantine team, said at a government briefing on the 9th, "Sporadic cluster infections through multi-use facilities are still occurring nationwide, so caution is necessary," and added, "This is a time when personal hygiene compliance and social distancing among members of society become even more important." Professor Lee Jae-gap of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Hallym University Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital also advised, "Considering the current COVID-19 spread, social distancing remains a valid approach."

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