Seoul Weekly Student COVID-19 Cases 16,814... Half Decrease Compared to Two Weeks Ago

April 11-17: Total 18,808 Seoul Students and Staff Confirmed Positive
96.3% of Schools Fully Reopened, 94.2% of Students Attended In-Person Classes

Trends of Confirmed COVID-19 Cases Among Students in Seoul for the 2022 Academic Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The weekly number of confirmed COVID-19 cases among students in Seoul has decreased to the 10,000 range over the past week.

On the 19th, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced that the number of confirmed cases among students and staff from the 11th to the 17th was 18,808. Among them, 16,814 were students and 1,994 were staff members.

Compared to two weeks ago, the number of confirmed student cases decreased by 16,814, and staff cases decreased by 1,994. Compared to the previous week, student cases dropped by 9,558 and staff cases by 1,152.

Kim Gyutae, Deputy Superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, explained, "An average of about 2,687 confirmed cases per day were reported, and this trend aligns with the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters' announcement that the domestic Omicron wave is shifting to a declining phase and the decrease in cases is stabilizing."

The proportion of confirmed cases in the Office of Education compared to the entire Seoul city over one week is 11.8%, about 1% lower than 12.8% two weeks ago.

As of the 18th, 2,030 out of 2,109 schools (96.3%) in Seoul have resumed full in-person classes. The rates are highest in kindergartens (98.8%), followed by middle schools (96.7%) and high schools (96.3%). This represents an increase of 6.2 percentage points compared to two weeks ago and 1.7 percentage points compared to one week ago. The percentage of students attending in-person classes is 94.2% (828,181 students).

The incidence rate per 10,000 students is 185.0, marking a decrease for five consecutive weeks. This is 127.3 fewer cases than the previous week. The rates were 703.8 in the third week of March, 609.8 in the fourth week of March, 476.0 in the fifth week of March, and 312.3 in the first week of April.

Starting from the 18th, the frequency of pre-attendance screening tests will change to once a week. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education has stockpiled about 1.35 million rapid antigen test kits, equivalent to 30% of the number of unconfirmed students and staff, for use after May.

Deputy Superintendent Kim said, "In the third and fourth weeks of April, we will support one rapid antigen test kit per week for students and staff, and after May, we plan to provide rapid antigen test kits that can be used from stockpiles in case of confirmed cases or other special situations."

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education will expand on-site mobile PCR testing. Previously, testing support was provided only to schools with group infections that requested it, but going forward, schools wishing to conduct tests before and after group events will also be supported.

Deputy Superintendent Kim explained, "We will expand on-site mobile PCR testing support to schools that wish to conduct tests before and after group events such as training activities and small-scale themed educational trips to prevent infections."

New quarantine guidelines will be applied in schools starting in May. The Ministry of Education is expected to announce a plan for school normalization on the 20th, which will likely include full in-person attendance, school experiential activities such as field trips, and whether confirmed students can take final exams.

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