Student COVID-19 Cases Reach Record High During Transition to Remote Classes... 514 Cases in 5 Days

Average Daily Confirmed Cases 102.8... Higher Than 1-7 Day Average (73)
20% Remote Classes as Seoul Metropolitan Area Switches to Remote from 12th
Student Cases Highest in Gyeonggi and Seoul... 3,577 Schools in Gyeonggi Shift to Remote

On the 13th, with 1,150 new COVID-19 cases reported, marking the first time in a week that daily new cases have exceeded 1,000, citizens visiting the temporary screening clinic set up in Yeouido Park, Seoul, are waiting to be tested. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Despite the upgrade to Level 4 social distancing in the Seoul metropolitan area and schools switching entirely to remote classes, the number of student COVID-19 cases has hit a new high this semester.

According to the Ministry of Education on the 13th, from the 8th to the 12th, a total of 514 students from kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high schools nationwide tested positive for COVID-19 over five days. The number of confirmed cases over these five days exceeded the number from the previous week (1st to 7th) and is the highest this semester.

The number of student cases by region is as follows: ▲Gyeonggi 184 ▲Seoul 143 ▲Incheon 52 ▲Gyeongnam 25 ▲Busan 18 ▲Gangwon 18 ▲Chungnam 16 ▲Daegu 14 ▲Ulsan 14.

The daily average number of confirmed cases was 102.8, which is 30 more than the daily average of 73 cases over the past week. The cumulative number of student COVID-19 cases this semester is 6,548. Over the five days, 63 staff members tested positive, 11 more than the 52 cases from the previous week.

As more schools in the metropolitan area switched to remote classes starting on the 12th, 20% of all schools were unable to hold in-person classes. As of 10 a.m. that day, 4,282 schools (20.9%) were affected, an increase of 4,183 schools compared to 99 schools from the 1st to the 8th.

Most schools that switched to remote classes were in the metropolitan area where Level 4 social distancing was applied. Gyeonggi had the highest number with 3,577 schools, followed by Incheon with 350 schools, and Seoul with 328 schools. Other regions had fewer than five schools conducting remote classes.

The Ministry of Education decided to fully switch metropolitan area schools to remote classes starting on the 14th after a grace period, but most schools in Gyeonggi and Incheon started earlier.

Over the recent five days, 3,467,842 students attended in-person classes, accounting for 58.5% of all students.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases among university students over the recent five days was 253. The daily average was 50.6 cases, 12 more than the daily average of 38 cases from the 1st to the 7th. University staff had 26 confirmed cases, with a daily average of 5.2, an increase of 1.3 from 3.9 during the 1st to the 7th. The cumulative number of confirmed university student cases is 3,147, and university staff cases total 302.

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