‘Full Support for Quarantine System’ … Ulsan Office of Education Operates Omicron Response School Field Support Team

Ulsan Office of Education.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] Ulsan Metropolitan Office of Education is operating on-site support teams at the headquarters and education support offices in response to the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

The on-site support teams will be operated from March until the spread of Omicron subsides to provide rapid and systematic support to schools for the new semester.

At the headquarters, the team is led by the Director of the Administration Bureau and is composed of an on-site support team and a general support team.

The on-site support team is overseen by the Department of Physical Education, Arts, and Health and consists of 24 members from all departments within the division.

The support team is responsible for operating mobile polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing stations, supporting screening tests, infection prevention activities at schools, expanding and distributing quarantine supplies, and managing confirmed and suspected cases to actively support schools.

The general support team is led by the Safety General Division and consists of 23 members from various departments within the Education Bureau and Administration Bureau.

Members of the general support team are tasked with quickly delivering stockpiled rapid antigen test kits when schools face shortages and also support mobile PCR testing sites.

In schools where confirmed cases occur, contact tracing and follow-up measures are conducted. When the local education support office requests rapid antigen test kits, the on-site support team provides kits and mobile PCR screening tests.

Ulsan Metropolitan Office of Education operates mobile PCR testing stations entrusted to specialized diagnostic medical institutions to prepare for confirmed cases in schools during the new semester.

When a confirmed case occurs on campus, a mobile specimen collection team visits the affected school to collect specimens only from students whose parents have consented and notifies the results, thereby reducing the burden of quarantine management on schools.

To support stable school quarantine, rapid antigen test kits are also distributed free of charge to students and staff.

Ulsan Metropolitan Office of Education plans to gradually secure about 16,000 self-diagnostic kits for stockpiling and about 1.4 million kits for proactive testing.

In March, each student will receive 9 kits, and each staff member will receive 4 kits. Kits will be distributed on the first day of school, March 2, and then every Friday thereafter.

The Office of Education will operate the first two weeks after the March semester start as an adaptation period, during which it will intensively inspect each school's response system.

Superintendent No Ok-hee plans to visit schools on the first day of school, March 2, to welcome students returning to school and to check academic operations and quarantine status.

An official from Ulsan Metropolitan Office of Education said, “In line with the transition to a school-centered quarantine system, we have shifted to a system that fully supports school sites. We will operate the disaster situation room, emergency response task force, and on-site support teams to provide rapid and systematic support to schools.”

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