One Week After Full Return to School, 1,090 Students in Seoul Confirmed COVID-19 Positive... Half Are Elementary School Students

A total of 1,185 students and staff confirmed positive... 167 more than last week
Elementary schools 547, middle schools 319, high schools 146 in order
Family infections highest at 36%... School infections at 18.8%

On the 22nd, when full in-person attendance began at elementary, middle, and high schools nationwide, children were attending school at an elementary school in Seoul. Nationwide full in-person attendance, including the metropolitan area, is the first since the new semester in March last year when the COVID-19 crisis intensified, marking the fourth semester./Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The number of student COVID-19 cases reported in Seoul during the first week after the full return to in-person classes reached 1,090.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education on the 30th, from the 22nd to the 28th, a total of 1,185 people tested positive in Seoul, including 1,090 kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high school students, and 95 staff members. This is an increase of 167 cases compared to the previous week.

By educational institution, the cases were highest in elementary schools with 547, followed by middle schools with 319, high schools with 146, and kindergartens with 53. There were also confirmed cases in special schools (4) and other facilities (7).

Regarding the infection routes, family transmission accounted for the largest number with 426 cases (36.0%), followed by infections outside school with 141 cases (11.9%), and infections within schools with 223 cases (18.8%). The infection route was unknown in 395 cases (33.3%).

At A Elementary School, after a family gathering on the 24th, two students tested positive, and subsequently eight more were confirmed, resulting in a total of 10 cases of cluster infection. In the case of B Elementary School, after three students and one staff member tested positive at a nearby Taekwondo center, additional cases (six students and one staff member) were confirmed, bringing the total to 11.

Since the start of full in-person classes, 96% of the 1,311 schools in Seoul have conducted on-site classes. For oversized and overcrowded schools, restrictions on classroom density were allowed; among 203 such schools, 147 conducted full in-person classes, while 56 allowed only two-thirds (middle and high schools) to three-fourths (elementary schools) of students to attend. As of the 29th, 86.5% of students in Seoul were attending in-person classes.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education will operate a "COVID-19 Response Epidemiological Investigation Support Team" for one month starting from the 29th by hiring 20 retired health teachers to assist with epidemiological investigations at schools where confirmed cases have occurred. Instructors will be assigned to support work for up to two days, eight hours per day, at 100 elementary, middle, high, and special schools.

Additionally, until the end of the year, mobile specimen collection teams will conduct proactive PCR testing at educational facilities, and on-site inspections for quarantine measures will be carried out at PC rooms, karaoke rooms, study cafes, and sports facilities frequently used by students outside of school.

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