50 Schools Unable to Attend on First Day of School... Remote Classes Due to COVID Concerns

37 Schools in Gyeonggi, 11 Schools in Gyeongbuk, 1 Each in Seoul and Incheon
1,432 Schools Closed at Discretion Due to Heavy Snow and Other Effects

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] On the first day of the new semester's return to school, remote classes were held at 50 schools in Gyeonggi, Gyeongbuk, Seoul, and Incheon due to concerns over COVID-19 spread.

On the 2nd, the Ministry of Education announced that as of 10 a.m., 37 schools in Gyeonggi, 11 schools in Gyeongbuk, and one school each in Seoul and Incheon conducted remote classes due to COVID-19 concerns.

In Gyeonggi Province, remote classes were held at a school in Dongducheon City, and in Gyeongbuk, remote classes were conducted in areas including Oeseong-gun instead of in-person classes.

Out of 20,512 schools on that day, 92.8% (19,030 schools) held in-person classes. A total of 1,432 schools either took discretionary holidays due to heavy snowfall in Gangwon Province the previous day or were still on vacation.

As of the 2nd, COVID-19 test results confirmed 10 students and 1 staff member positive. The students who tested positive were 1 each in Seoul and Sejong, 2 in Incheon, and 6 in Gyeonggi, while the staff member who tested positive was from Incheon.

From May 20 last year to February 28 this year, the cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases among students was 4,917, and among staff was 797.

Among 331 universities and colleges nationwide, 10 schools (3.0%) were conducting fully remote classes.

224 schools (67.7%) decided to determine their class methods linked to social distancing levels, 67 schools (20.2%) were conducting hybrid classes combining in-person and remote learning for individual courses, and 30 schools (9.1%) were conducting limited in-person classes only for experimental, practical, or skill-based subjects.

As of midnight on that day, 6 university students were confirmed positive. As of the 28th of last month, the cumulative number of confirmed university student cases was 2,475, and staff cases were 285.