36 New COVID-19 Cases Among Students... 309 Schools Unable to Hold Classes

On the 8th, when the fourth phase of in-person classes for first-year middle school students and fifth- and sixth-grade elementary students began, first-year students were heading to school at a middle school in Seoul. According to the Ministry of Education, 1.35 million first-year middle school and fifth- and sixth-grade elementary students attended school that day, marking 98 days since the original school start date of March 2 this year. Previously, third-year high school students first returned to school on the 20th of last month, followed by a phased return for each grade. With the completion of attendance on this day, a total of 5.95 million elementary, middle, and high school students nationwide began in-person classes for the first semester of this year. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] With less than a week remaining until the College Scholastic Ability Test, 36 students have tested positive for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

According to the Ministry of Education on the 27th, since the phased return to school began on May 20th until the previous day, the cumulative number of student COVID-19 cases reached 1,168, with 36 new cases reported on the 26th alone.

On the 25th, 13 student cases were reported late, increasing the cumulative student cases by 49 compared to the previous day's total.

The number of infected faculty and staff reached a cumulative total of 220, an increase of 6.

Schools closing due to the impact of COVID-19 have also increased again. As of 10 a.m. on this day, 309 schools across 13 cities and provinces nationwide have adjusted their in-person class schedules, an increase of 109 schools compared to the previous day (200 schools).

The number of schools suspending in-person classes had risen to 213 on the 25th, then decreased the following day, but has now returned to an upward trend. This excludes all high schools and test site schools nationwide that switched to remote classes starting one week before the CSAT to prepare for quarantine measures.

By region, students were unable to attend school in 77 schools in Chungbuk, 68 in Jeonnam, 65 in Seoul, 35 in Gyeonggi, 25 in Ulsan, 15 in Gangwon, 8 in Gyeongbuk, 5 each in Busan and Chungnam, 2 each in Sejong and Jeonbuk, and 1 each in Incheon and Gwangju.