2109 Student COVID-19 Cases in Seoul This Week... 15 Fewer Than Last Week

Weekly Student Confirmed Cases 2124→2109
Daily Average Confirmed Cases 333→330
Increased Infection Rate Among Elementary Students
From 20th, Grades 3-6 Elementary, 2/3 Middle & High School Attend Classes

Weekly Seoul Student COVID-19 Cases Trend (Data provided by Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education)

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The number of confirmed student cases in Seoul over the past week decreased by 15 from the previous week, recording 2,109 cases.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced that from the 13th to the 19th, the number of confirmed cases among kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high school students was 2,109, and among staff was 206, totaling 2,315. The daily average number of confirmed cases slightly decreased from 333 to 330.

The infection routes of confirmed cases were mostly family infections (37.0%), followed by in-school infections (24.5%) and out-of-school infections (9.6%). Cases with unknown infection routes accounted for 28.9%. In-school infections totaled 518, an increase of 5 from the previous week.

Status of confirmed COVID-19 cases among students and staff in the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education from December 13 to 19 (Data provided by Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education)

Kim Gyutae, Deputy Superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, explained, "Although the number of student confirmed cases decreased slightly compared to last week, the incidence rate remains high. The proportion of in-school infections increased by 0.4% compared to two weeks ago, but with an average incidence rate around 25%, it is understood that confirmed cases are not significantly increasing through schools."

The incidence rates of confirmed cases relative to the total number of students by school level are ▲Elementary school 31.2% ▲Middle school 19.4% ▲Kindergarten 24.2% ▲High school grades 1-2 12.7% ▲High school grade 3 10.0%. Compared to last week's rates, only elementary students (28.6%) and high school grades 1-2 (10.4%) showed an increase, while the others decreased.

Recent 4-week COVID-19 Cases by School Level in Seoul (Data Provided by Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education)

There were a total of three cluster infection cases. At A Elementary School, after a confirmed case occurred at a nearby Taekwondo studio on the 8th, 12 related contacts tested positive. At B Elementary School, following the first confirmed case on the 9th, 23 students and 1 staff member were additionally confirmed positive, totaling 25 cluster infections. At C Middle School, after a confirmed case on the 15th, 9 additional students tested positive, increasing the total confirmed cases to 10.

Deputy Superintendent Kim said, "Until the year-end, which is not far away, we will adjust school density to about two-thirds to ensure that schools at all levels can safely complete their academic schedules. We will also focus all efforts on infection prevention activities at schools to prevent relaxation of measures amid the end-of-term exams and year-end and New Year atmosphere."

Meanwhile, since the 20th, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education has adjusted school density to two-thirds for all grades except elementary grades 1-2. This also applies to middle and high schools. However, considering local infection situations and academic schedules, full attendance can still be maintained. Group and mobile classes should be refrained from, and face-to-face events inside and outside schools should be avoided.

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