Over 2,000 Student COVID-19 Cases in Seoul in One Week... Half of Classrooms Empty

Confirmed Cases Increased by 674 in One Week
Half of Classrooms Empty Despite In-Person Classes
Classes Disrupted Due to Teacher Isolation and Confirmed Cases
Health Center Epidemiological Investigations Also Paralyzed

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The number of student COVID-19 cases in Seoul over the past week has exceeded 2,000. Many schools are conducting final exams, and in-person classes must continue until the winter break.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education on the 14th, the number of confirmed student cases from the 6th to the 12th was 2,124, an increase of 674 compared to the previous week. The number of confirmed cases among staff was 206, up 102 from the previous week.

The infection rates among students by school level in Seoul are ▲Elementary school 28.6% ▲Middle school 25.1% ▲Kindergarten 24.2% ▲High school grade 3 (G12) 12.1% ▲High school grades 1-2 (G10-11) 10.4%. The infection rate in kindergartens increased 3.6 times compared to the third week of November (6.7%), and elementary school students’ rate rose 2.4 times from 11.9% to 28.6% during the same period.

Teachers at schools in the Seoul metropolitan area must frequently undergo polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests due to the rise in student infections. Even when in-person classes are held, classrooms are often about half empty. As of the 8th, 79.6% of students in Seoul attended in-person classes. By school level, attendance rates were ▲Elementary 87.9% ▲Middle 77.0% ▲High 66.6%.

A representative from the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union said, "Many students cannot attend school or classes due to classification as close contacts, quarantine, or home study, and this is expected to worsen after final exams. Teachers in the metropolitan area are particularly worried," adding, "Schools are struggling with attendance processing."

In newly developed cities densely populated with large universities in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, confirmed cases are reported daily, causing the public health center’s epidemiological investigation system to be overwhelmed. Especially in large university areas, student cases appear almost every other day. A parent of a second-grade elementary student said, "The school sent a notice saying it is difficult to notify those subject to epidemiological investigation due to the surge in confirmed cases," and added, "They tell us to get tested if a confirmed case occurs and the student goes home, but I question whether we should continue attending school under these conditions."

Seoul schools will begin winter break at the end of this month, and more than 50% of middle and high schools will conduct final exams in the third week of December. Full in-person attendance will be maintained until the break. Kim Gyu-tae, Deputy Superintendent of Seoul, explained, "The infection rate within schools is about 25% on average, with more infections occurring outside. Requests to revise the full in-person attendance policy must be observed at this point," adding, "Even now, when confirmed cases occur in schools, only some classes switch to remote learning, and schools operate flexibly."

Professor Choi Eun-hwa of Seoul National University Children’s Hospital’s Department of Pediatrics said, "This kind of crisis can happen again anytime, so we need to discuss long-term plans on whether to repeatedly test everyone and close schools each time."

Starting from the 21st, Seoul will implement ‘visiting vaccination.’ A total of 1,154 schools have applied for on-site vaccination visits. Schools with fewer than 10 applicants (952 schools) are the majority, followed by 146 schools with 11-20 applicants, and 2 schools with more than 51 applicants. Local governments and schools will coordinate for public health center staff to visit schools or organize group vaccinations at public health centers or designated medical institutions. Prior to vaccination, pre-screening will be conducted, and parental consent forms will be additionally collected.

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