"Can I Have a Birthday Party with Friends?" Korea Disease Control Headquarters Answers Children's COVID-19 Questions Ahead of May

Answering Questions for Elementary Students Unable to Attend School
Explaining Daily Quarantine Rules to Follow After School Reopens
Calls to Fundamentally Change the Traditional School Environment

Students are attending an online English class at Seoul Agricultural School in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 20th, marking the end of the third phase of online school openings for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders in elementary school. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

"How small is COVID-19? Who named the disease? Can I have a birthday party with my friends?" (Yoo Eun-ho, 2nd grade elementary)

"I heard a friend had COVID-19. Can I not be close to them?" (Yoo Ji-ho, 3rd grade elementary)

The regular briefing of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters on COVID-19 held on the 29th was unlike usual. Children asked questions they had about COVID-19, and Director Jeong Eun-kyung answered them. This was a special event held ahead of Children's Day. Questions were collected in advance from the children of members of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's Public Communication Team and from children reporters in Gyeonggi-do and Daegu, recorded, and responses were given during the briefing.

"What rules should we follow after school reopens?"
Emphasizing daily quarantine guidelines ahead of school reopening

Due to the delay in school reopening and the ongoing online classes, students had many questions about returning to school. Yoon Rin, a 6th-grade elementary student, asked maturely, "I heard that Singapore reopened schools and the number of confirmed cases increased a lot. Is it because of reopening? What rules should students in our country follow after school reopens?"

As the COVID-19 situation in Korea has continued for about 100 days, the biggest change noted by health authorities is in the daily lives of children who cannot attend school. In Korea, cases surged sharply in late February during the vacation period, leading to multiple postponements of school reopening. Eventually, online classes began on the 9th of this month for 3rd-year high school and middle school students preparing for advancement to higher grades, and have since expanded so that all students now attend classes online.

Discussions are underway to set the timing for in-person school reopening starting from June 5, when the eased social distancing measures end. Although new cases have decreased, concerns about infection remain, so education authorities are approaching the matter cautiously. While online classes are becoming established, there are challenges with various exams, evaluations, and college entrance counseling, leading to demands for in-person school reopening.

Infection Risk Remains High Upon Returning to School
140 COVID-19 Cases Aged 9 and Under, 590 Cases Aged 10-19
No Deaths Under Age 10 in Korea... 3 Deaths in the US

The government considers quarantine management focusing on frontline teachers and students crucial after school reopening and has prepared guidelines about a month ago. Basic hygiene rules and social distancing are emphasized, and schools are encouraged to prepare thermometers, masks, and hand sanitizers. Mock drills are also conducted to prepare for potential cases within schools.

Professor Kim Yoon from the Department of Medical Management at Seoul National University College of Medicine said, "We need to prepare very specific measures beyond simply deciding the reopening date, such as combining online and offline classes, splitting morning and afternoon sessions, and reducing density in places where groups gather like playgrounds and cafeterias. Efforts to fundamentally change the traditional school environment are necessary."

Although the fatality rate is relatively low, children are not less susceptible to infection just because they are young. According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, as of this date, there are 140 confirmed cases aged 9 and under, and 590 cases aged 10 to 19, accounting for about 6.8% of all confirmed cases in Korea. There have been no deaths under age 10 domestically. In the US, where the number of confirmed cases is highest, three deaths have occurred in the under-17 age group (as of the 14th). A study by Professor Han Mi-seon of the Department of Pediatrics at Seoul Boramae Hospital analyzing the clinical symptoms of a newborn who was confirmed positive at 27 days old and later recovered found that the viral load was about 100 times higher than that of the mother who was also confirmed positive when the infant's symptoms were severe. The infant was discharged after about two weeks of treatment.

At the briefing, Director Jeong was joined by Professor Choi Eun-hwa of the Department of Pediatrics at Seoul National University College of Medicine and Professor Kim Ye-jin of the Department of Pediatrics at Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, both executives of the Korean Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society.

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