Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education Implements 'Emergency Measures' to Curb COVID-19 Spread

Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education held a video conference and prepared a "School Response Plan to the Spread of COVID-19 Regional Infections." Photo by Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Jun-kyung] On the morning of the 3rd, the Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education held a video conference in the situation room with the superintendents of education support offices from 22 cities and counties in the province, as well as heads of affiliated institutions, and announced that they had established a ‘School Response Plan to the Spread of COVID-19 Regional Infections.’

The Office of Education established an emergency contact network in schools at all levels in preparation for confirmed COVID-19 cases and educated them on the response manual to enable quick action in emergency situations.

In the event of a confirmed case within a school, the relevant education support office and quarantine authorities will immediately suspend in-person classes and switch to remote learning after consultation.

Superintendent Jang Seok-woong urged, “Since the key to preventing secondary infections in schools is ‘minimizing density,’ please strictly adhere to the policy of alternating remote classes for large schools with more than 700 elementary students and 900 middle school students.”

He added, “Even schools that do not meet the criteria for large schools should boldly implement remote learning in parallel. For example, Hadang Middle School in Mokpo conducted remote classes despite having only 492 students, which is far below the threshold, and as a result, minimized contact with students who were asymptomatically confirmed positive.”

The Office of Education plans to strongly urge and promote students and parents to refrain from visiting and using multi-use facilities such as PC rooms, karaoke rooms, cafes, and religious event venues.

Public libraries in seven locations?Mokpo City, nearby Muan, and Naju, Nampyeong, Hwasun, Jangseong, and Damyang, which are close to Gwangju Metropolitan City?where confirmed cases recently occurred, will suspend reading rooms and lifelong learning classes until the 15th.

Additionally, among the 22 public libraries in the province (including lifelong education centers and education and culture centers), programs led by instructors who reside in Gwangju and whose movement paths overlap with confirmed cases or who have visited nearby areas will be suspended, and those instructors will be placed under special management.

All academies in the Naju, Hwasun, Damyang, and Jangseong areas near Gwangju have been strongly recommended to close for one week from the 1st to the 7th.

Quarantine measures for after-school care classrooms have also been significantly strengthened. Priority has been given to securing and providing quarantine supplies such as thermometers, hand sanitizers, and masks, and strict adherence to preventive measures such as classroom disinfection, temperature checks upon entry and departure, mask-wearing, and handwashing before snacks has been enforced.

Superintendent Jang Seok-woong emphasized, “The recent trend of COVID-19 infection spread in the Gwangju area is serious, and since Gwangju and Jeonnam share the same living area, the risk of infection is very high. Although the Office of Education has responded exemplary to COVID-19, all staff, students, and parents must unite to prevent secondary infections and maintain in-person classes.”

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