Surge in COVID-19 Cases Among Elementary, Middle, and High School Students, Omicron Spreads on University Campuses... School Quarantine Measures at Risk

'3rd Week of Full In-Person Classes' 5,518 Students Nationwide Confirmed
Government: "Can Withstand Up to 10,000... Face-to-Face Classes Until the Last Moment"
Mom Cafes: "Students Will Be Together All Day in Classrooms, How to Stop the Spread?"

On the 14th, students are attending school at an elementary school in Seoul. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Amid the rapid spread of COVID-19, concerns are growing as cluster infections linked to schools continue. The government has determined that vaccination is urgent for adolescents, among whom confirmed cases are rapidly increasing without vaccination. However, some parents are hesitant to vaccinate their children due to concerns about vaccine side effects. Nevertheless, the government continues to emphasize the importance of vaccination for adolescents daily.

According to the Ministry of Education on the 13th, from the 6th to the 12th of this month, a total of 5,518 kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high school students nationwide were confirmed positive for COVID-19. This averages 788.3 cases per day, marking a record high.

In particular, since full in-person classes began on the 22nd of last month, on the 7th, more than 1,000 students (1,007) were confirmed positive in a single day. Subsequently, 950 cases on the 8th, 991 on the 9th, and 941 on the 10th were reported, with daily student cases consistently approaching the 1,000 mark.

Although the spread of COVID-19 continues mainly among adolescents, the government repeatedly emphasizes the policy of face-to-face classes. Son Youngrae, head of the Social Strategy Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, said at a regular COVID-19 briefing on the 8th, "Many have pointed out that it is important for schools to continue face-to-face classes as a normal routine until the very last moment," adding, "The government also views this as very important in light of social values."

He continued, "We hope to keep schools open so that students do not miss various educational values or opportunities for character development due to a switch back to remote learning," and added, "To this end, we are encouraging active vaccination among children and adolescents and implementing various measures such as expanding the vaccine pass."

On the morning of the 13th, residents lined up at the parking lot of Hampyeong Expo Park in Hampyeong-eup, Hampyeong-gun, Jeollanam-do to receive diagnostic tests. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

However, anxiety is growing among parents sending their children to school. There are criticisms that full in-person classes are not timely amid the ongoing surge of COVID-19 cases.

A netizen who introduced herself as a parent of a first-year middle school student expressed on a mom caf?, "I don't understand why they are pushing for full in-person classes to improve the quality of education when the number of confirmed cases has exceeded 7,000 after doing well with online classes," adding, "In my view, schools where children eat together seem more dangerous than private academies. I want to go back to the pre-With COVID era."

Another netizen also said through a mom caf? in Gangseo-gu, Busan, "Considering academic gaps and children's friendships, full in-person classes are appropriate, but unfortunately, the Omicron wave coincided with this timing. It seems that 10,000 confirmed cases are not far off," and added, "I'm not blaming the government, but I regret that the timing of full in-person classes could have been more cautious."

They further added, "Children have not all been vaccinated, and they eat together and spend all day in classrooms during full in-person classes. Can the spread really be prevented?"

Meanwhile, vaccination rates among adolescents appear to be low. According to the Ministry of Education, from the 6th to the 12th, a demand survey for 'visiting vaccination' was conducted targeting students aged 12 to 17 or their guardians. Among 290,023 survey participants, only 83,928 (28.9%) expressed willingness to be vaccinated. This corresponds to 6.9% of the 1,220,130 unvaccinated individuals in that age group.

On the 13th, a notice about the application of the quarantine pass is posted at a restaurant in downtown Seoul. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Meanwhile, the situation is equally dire on university campuses. On the 7th, three foreign students enrolled at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Kyung Hee University, and Seoul National University were all infected with the Omicron variant, prompting universities to enter emergency mode. It is known that all of them had visited a church in Michuhol-gu, Incheon, where the first Omicron infection was reported.

Especially since all of them are university students, there is great concern that the Omicron variant could spread rapidly in densely populated university areas. Some of these students reportedly used university facilities such as libraries freely and attended face-to-face classes before being confirmed positive.

In response, each university has taken measures, but there are criticisms that these efforts may be too late. The foreign students freely moved around campus for several days after visiting the church, and the transmissibility of Omicron is very strong.

Meanwhile, the government continues to emphasize the importance of vaccines. Jung Eun-kyung, director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, said on the 10th regarding a public petition opposing the application of the vaccine pass to adolescents, "The preventive effect of vaccination is clear," adding, "Vaccination not only reduces the risk of infection but also has a 90% effectiveness in preventing severe illness and death."

Regarding adolescent vaccination, she emphasized its importance, stating, "The COVID-19 infection rate among adolescents aged 12 to 17 per 100,000 increased sharply from 110 in August to 234 in November, more than doubling in a short period. Notably, 99.8% of adolescent confirmed cases were unvaccinated, and all 11 severe cases were unvaccinated."

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