880 Students Confirmed COVID-19 Positive in the Past Week... Ministry of Education Does Not Consider 'Optional School Attendance System'

Average 125.7 Daily Confirmed Cases, 10 More Than Previous Week
Gyeonggi 256, Seoul 110, Gyeongnam 109 Cases
Ministry of Education Says "Careful Review Needed" on 'School Attendance Choice System' Request

On the 21st, high school seniors waiting to receive their vaccines are lined up at the vaccination center set up at Dongjak-gu Community Sports Center in Seoul. Photo by Jin-Hyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] In the past week, 880 students tested positive for COVID-19. As the total number of confirmed cases nationwide exceeded 2,000, the number of student cases also turned to an upward trend within a week.

According to the Ministry of Education on the 12th, from the 5th to the 11th, 880 kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high school students were confirmed positive for COVID-19, averaging 125.7 cases per day. This is an increase of 10 cases per day compared to the previous week (July 29 to August 4).

The number of student cases in the previous week was 810, which had decreased by 74 compared to two weeks ago, but increased again by 70 within a week. The cumulative number of student cases this semester has risen to 10,680.

By region, the number of student cases is as follows: ▲Gyeonggi 256 ▲Seoul 110 ▲Gyeongnam 109 ▲Busan 63 ▲Daegu 53 ▲Gyeongbuk 51 ▲Incheon 40 ▲Chungnam 38 ▲Chungbuk 31 ▲Jeonnam 26 ▲Daejeon 23 ▲Jeonbuk 20 ▲Ulsan 19 ▲Gangwon 15.

In the past week, 78 faculty and staff members tested positive, with an average of 11.1 cases per day. Since March, the cumulative number of confirmed cases among faculty and staff is 1,367.

With the start of the semester, the number of schools conducting remote classes increased by more than 350 compared to the previous week. As of 10 a.m. on the day, out of 20,512 schools nationwide, 18,298 schools (89.2%) are on vacation. 450 schools (2.2%) conducted remote classes. Schools conducting in-person classes numbered 1,764 (8.6%), with 3.4% (200,000) of the total 5.93 million students attending in-person classes.

The Ministry of Education announced the 'Second Semester Academic Operation Plan,' allowing up to two-thirds attendance even under social distancing level 4. Kindergartens, and grades 1 and 2 of elementary school, as well as grade 12 (high school seniors), are excluded from the school density criteria. Instead, the Ministry expanded the use of home study to a maximum of 57 days.

However, the Ministry stated that it is not considering granting an option for attendance choice. A Ministry official said, "Various aspects need to be considered regarding the choice of attendance, and careful review is necessary," adding, "We expanded the days allowed for home study, which was previously around 40 days, to alleviate such concerns."

In the metropolitan area, 7,216 schools (92.9%) out of 7,768 are on vacation, and 292 schools (3.8%) have switched to remote classes.

Meanwhile, in the past week, 452 new university student cases and 50 university faculty and staff cases were reported, increasing by 119 and 20 respectively compared to the previous week. The daily average number of confirmed cases is 65.6 for university students and 7.1 for faculty and staff. The cumulative number of confirmed university student cases is 5,017, and university faculty and staff cases total 488.

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