The First 'No Mask' School Opening Since COVID-19... Will the 'March-April Spread' Be Different This Time?

School Opening [Image Source=Yonhap News]

Elementary, middle, and high schools nationwide welcomed the first in-person opening ceremony without masks in four years, putting the COVID-19 endemic to the test.

According to health authorities on the 2nd, most school quarantine measures have been lifted this year as the COVID-19 outbreak remains stable. Students can now remove masks in classrooms, and it is no longer mandatory to register on the COVID-19 self-diagnosis app, perform self-diagnosis, or undergo fever checks. The installation of partitions in cafeterias has also changed from mandatory to voluntary. In 2020, the first year of COVID-19, the school year started only after April and was held remotely. In 2021, due to social distancing and restrictions on the "3Cs" (crowded places, close-contact settings, and confined spaces), only some students could attend school. Last year, full attendance was implemented, but quarantine measures remained, making daily life still challenging.

Authorities expect that confirmed cases may increase from this month through April, the first semester with significantly eased COVID-19 measures. The pattern of COVID-19 spread has been small-scale cluster infections at schools followed by transmission within homes and workplaces. Im Suk-young, head of the Central Disease Control Headquarters’ situation management team, said, “Since this is the first semester after adjusting the indoor mask-wearing mandate, there is hope, but it is also true that caution remains due to these factors.”

The “key factor” is whether the scale of spread will escalate into the “8th wave.” The previous winter wave, the “7th wave,” has ended due to a continuous decline, with the weekly average daily confirmed cases staying below 10,000 since the 24th of last month. Experts believe a temporary rebound may occur 2 to 3 weeks after school starts, but it is unlikely to trigger a new wave. This means that the eased measures from the no-mask school opening are unlikely to be reinstated, nor will discussions on further easing of remaining quarantine measures be delayed. Currently, the remaining measures include indoor mask-wearing in public transportation facilities and medical institutions, as well as a mandatory 7-day isolation for confirmed cases.

Professor Eom Jung-sik of Gil Hospital’s Infectious Diseases Department said, “Although diagnostic testing was not conducted during the last winter wave, a significant number of adolescents have already been infected and possess COVID-19 antibodies, and many students still wear masks. Therefore, the school opening is not expected to affect the overall trend of the outbreak.”

Health authorities have stated that if COVID-19 remains stable despite the start of school attendance, they will consider completely lifting the indoor mask mandate. The National Infectious Disease Crisis Response Advisory Committee, which advises on quarantine policies, decided to begin discussions on fully lifting indoor mask requirements by the end of this month?earlier than the initially expected May?due to the continued decline in COVID-19 cases despite the first phase of indoor mask easing.

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