Over 400 Nurses Hired at National University Hospitals Due to Prolonged Impact of COVID-19

418 Staff Including 369 Nurses and 38 Nursing Assistants
Daegu Implements Fully Remote Classes, Highest Until Chuseok Holiday

Nurses are working in the COVID-19 management ward at the National Medical Center in Seoul, where the spread of COVID-19 continues in the metropolitan area. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] Due to the prolonged spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), nurse recruitment is increasing.

The Ministry of Education announced on the 17th that it will hire a total of 418 personnel, including 369 nurses, 38 nursing assistants, and 11 medical technicians.

A Ministry of Education official stated, "In order to reduce the fatigue of medical staff and strengthen the responsibility of national university hospitals as regional public medical institutions, we will proceed with the hiring process as soon as possible."

By hospital, Seoul National University Hospital plans to increase 96 nurses and 14 nursing assistants, and Bundang Seoul National University Hospital will increase 60 nurses. Jeonbuk National University Hospital will add 63 nurses, 4 nursing assistants, and 2 medical technicians, while Kyungpook National University Hospital will increase 38 nurses.

Meanwhile, as of the 14th of this month, among 332 national and junior colleges nationwide, 132 schools, accounting for 39.8%, were conducting fully remote classes. This is a decrease of 64 schools compared to the 7th of this month, one week earlier.

With the easing of social distancing in the metropolitan area, the number of schools conducting in-person classes alongside remote classes has increased, resulting in a decrease in schools conducting fully remote classes. Among four-year universities, 82 out of 198 schools (41.4%), and among junior colleges, 50 out of 134 schools (37.3%) are conducting fully remote classes without attending in person.

The period for fully remote classes was most commonly until the Chuseok holiday (33.3%), followed by the third week of September (28.0%) and mid-October (17.4%). Between the 9th and 15th of this month, 22 university students and 2 faculty members were confirmed positive for COVID-19.

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