"Is the daycare teacher confirmed positive? Excessive demands for disclosure of movement paths, what do you think?"

Parents "Disclose Teacher Movement Paths" vs Teachers "Privacy Invasion"
Experts "Recommend Home Study if COVID-19 Concerns Are High"

The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. Photo by Yonhap News.

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] "Should daycare teachers disclose their movement paths?"

With kindergarten students' return to school just two days away, some parents are demanding that daycare teachers disclose their movement paths, causing controversy.

While parents are concerned that children with weak immune systems might be infected by staff members, teachers are raising their voices in criticism, saying that disclosing the movement paths of ordinary people who are not confirmed cases is an invasion of privacy.

On the 23rd, a post titled "I am a daycare teacher. They are demanding disclosure of movement paths" was uploaded on an online community.

According to the post, daycare teacher A recently received an absurd request from the kindergarten. The director said that parents' opinions were strong and demanded the disclosure of the movement paths of staff working at the center every Monday.

A said, "Are we confirmed cases? This is an invasion of privacy. It's already stressful enough to take care of children in emergency care before the official school opening," and added, "The children themselves don't even know where and how they move, so why should only the staff's movement paths be disclosed?" raising her voice.

She continued, "Fortunately, the director blocked (the parents) in the middle, but just the fact that such opinions are coming out is really disheartening," she added.

Netizens who read the story criticized parents who apply strict standards only to teachers. In particular, a netizen who identified herself as a kindergarten teacher said, "We do not disclose to parents, but we have been recording our movement paths separately for three months," and lamented, "What’s unfair is that parents go camping or traveling every weekend. If movement paths are to be disclosed, I think it should be done fairly for parents and children as well."

The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. Photo by Yonhap News.

In a situation where concerns about 'n-th infection' of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are high, parents who have to send their young children to school are deeply worried.

Especially for infants and young children, who are not only unfamiliar with preventive measures such as wearing masks, hand sanitizing, and social distancing but also have weaker immune systems, parents' concerns are even greater.

Moreover, as cases of infected teachers have emerged, parents' anxiety has intensified.

B, a 20-something instructor working at an art academy in Magok-dong, Seoul, tested positive for COVID-19 on the 24th. It was identified that about 100 students, including elementary school students, infants, and kindergarteners, attended classes at the academy where B worked. The academy is scheduled to be closed for the next two weeks.

Earlier, on the 13th, there was also a case of a kindergarten teacher being infected. A teacher in her 20s working at the attached kindergarten of Daewang Elementary School in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, tested positive again for COVID-19 that morning.

The teacher was found to have come into contact with a total of 50 people, including 25 kindergarten students, 10 staff members, and 15 elementary school-related staff . Fortunately, all of them tested negative.

However, teachers' worries continue. They feel rather anxious because they do not know where the children have been over the weekend.

One daycare teacher commented, "Honestly, when the weekend is over, children who traveled or went to crowded places during the weekend make us anxious. Teachers are careful not to go anywhere to avoid harming the children, so why don’t parents appreciate such efforts?" she raised her voice.

Experts recommend home study if concerns about the spread of infectious diseases are high. Jo Seongcheol, spokesperson for the Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations, said, "The education authorities have flexibly allowed home study. For elementary students in the Seoul area, home study is permitted for 34 days. If concerns about infectious diseases are high, this option can be utilized."

He added, "The most important thing now is for the quarantine authorities and education authorities to properly assess and analyze the trend of the infectious disease, make decisions such as delaying school attendance, and prepare follow-up measures well."

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