331 Students Confirmed COVID-19 Positive in the Past Week... Jeju and Gunpo Switch to Remote Classes

From the 6th to the 12th, student confirmed cases increased by 35 compared to the previous week
Jeju 165 and Gyeonggi 117 schools switch to remote classes

On the 3rd, a student is undergoing a test at a mobile COVID-19 PCR testing site installed at Seoul Sports Middle and High School in Songpa-gu, Seoul. The Ministry of Education, in consultation with health authorities, has formed teams for each of the 11 education support offices in Seoul to conduct tests starting from the 3rd, visiting schools across the city to test staff and students who wish to participate. Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] In the past week, 331 students tested positive for COVID-19, an increase of 35 from the previous week. Due to consecutive cluster infections in Gunpo, Gyeonggi Province, and Jeju, about 300 schools switched to remote classes.

According to the Ministry of Education on the 13th, from the 6th to the 12th, a total of 331 students from kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high schools, and 64 staff members tested positive for COVID-19. This means an average of 47.3 students and 9.1 staff members were confirmed positive daily.

Although the Ministry of Education announced a policy to promote full in-person attendance for the second semester, only 73% of students attended normal in-person classes due to sporadic cluster infections. The number of schools switching to remote classes increased by about 300 within a week.

The number of COVID-19 confirmed cases had decreased for three consecutive weeks but has now started to rise again. The cumulative number of student COVID-19 cases in the first semester is 3,238, and the number of staff cases is 507.

As of 10 a.m. on the day, 373 schools (1.8%) were unable to conduct in-person classes, an increase of 294 schools compared to the previous week. Thirty-five schools implemented discretionary holidays.

By region, Jeju had the highest number of schools unable to conduct in-person classes with 165 schools, followed by Gyeonggi (117 schools), Seoul (32 schools), and Gwangju (21 schools). It is unusual for the number of schools conducting remote classes to increase to triple digits.

In Gunpo, Gyeonggi Province, due to a cluster infection originating from private academies, elementary, middle, and high schools in the area are conducting remote classes until the 14th, and Jeju region (excluding kindergartens, elementary, and middle schools in towns and townships) will conduct full remote classes from the 13th to the 18th.

As of 4 p.m. on the 12th, 4,354,988 kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high school students attended in-person classes, accounting for 73.4% of all students. Middle school attendance was 61.1%, high school 72.0%, and elementary school 75.8%.

In the past week, 143 university students tested positive, an increase of 36 from the previous week. University staff confirmed cases were 15, an increase of 10 from the previous week. On average, 20.4 university students and 2.1 staff members tested positive daily. The cumulative number of confirmed cases among university students and staff are 1,410 and 145, respectively.