Government: "All Students Sent Home and Remote Classes Switched When COVID-19 Cases Occur in Schools" (Update)

Students from the Department of Film Studies at Dong-Eui University are attending a video editing class on the morning of the 11th in a lecture room at the Industry-Academic Cooperation Building on campus in Busanjin-gu, Busan.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] The government has informed schools at all levels of school quarantine guidelines containing measures to respond in case of confirmed COVID-19 cases, to prevent the inflow or spread of the novel coronavirus infection within schools.

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters for COVID-19, the recently distributed guidelines include measures to prevent the entry of individuals with suspected COVID-19 symptoms into schools, student management during school activities, and response systems in case of confirmed cases. If any student or staff member shows suspicious symptoms such as fever or cough, they are to immediately visit a screening clinic for medical examination and diagnostic testing.

Once confirmed positive, all students and staff must wear medical masks and return home. Subsequently, classes will switch to a remote learning system. Confirmed cases are prohibited from attending school until their isolation is lifted, and suspected patients, individuals under investigation with symptoms, and students in self-quarantine are barred from attending school for two weeks. In such cases, absences will be recognized as excused.

Starting one week before attending school, a daily morning survey will be conducted at home to check for any suspected symptoms. Students and cohabitants such as parents are required to notify the school of any information related to infection likelihood, including overseas travel history within the past two weeks, through a daily monitoring system. This has been applied since the 7th for high school seniors (Grade 12) who are scheduled to return to school on the 13th.

Upon attending school, temperature checks will be conducted at least twice daily?before entering the classroom and during the school day. Before classes begin, respiratory symptoms and fever will be frequently monitored, and individuals with suspected symptoms will be promptly guided to receive medical examination and diagnostic testing.

Meanwhile, regarding Seoul Superintendent of Education Cho Hee-yeon's proposal to delay the return of Grade 12 students by one week, the government stated that no concrete decision has been made yet. On the 10th, Yoon Tae-ho, head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters' quarantine team, said at a briefing, "I understand that the Ministry of Education is discussing this in depth, but it is not yet at a stage to announce any decisions."

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