184 Students Confirmed Daily Over Past 5 Days... 28 Fewer Than Previous Week

Student COVID-19 Cases Drop to High 90s
99% of Schools Nationwide Conduct In-Person Classes

On the 13th, when the COVID-19 Recovery Support Committee, which will discuss specific measures for phased daily recovery (With Corona), was launched, citizens were waiting for tests at the Jung-gu temporary screening clinic set up in Seoul Station Plaza. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The average daily number of confirmed COVID-19 cases among kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high school students over the past five days has decreased by 28 to the 184 range compared to the previous week.

According to the Ministry of Education on the 19th, from the 14th to the 18th, a total of 922 students nationwide from kindergarten through high school tested positive, averaging 184.4 cases per day. Since the start of the school term in March through the 18th, the cumulative number of confirmed student cases is 24,649.

After Chuseok, the average daily number of confirmed cases surged to a peak of 244.8 but has steadily declined to the high 100s.

From the 18th, vaccinations for 16-17-year-olds began, and reservations for 12-15-year-olds started. As the government plans to transition to phased daily recovery in November, the Ministry of Education also intends to further expand the scope of in-person attendance in the metropolitan area accordingly.

An official from the Ministry of Education stated, "Since adolescents vaccinated on the 18th will be considered fully vaccinated around November 22, we plan to clarify guidelines and provide on-site instructions until then," adding, "Schools will also align with the daily recovery phase, but decisions on further expansion of in-person attendance will be announced after additional discussions."

Over the five days, 43 staff members tested positive, averaging 8.6 cases per day. The cumulative number of confirmed staff cases is 1,953.

As of 10 a.m. on the day, 145 schools were conducting remote classes, distributed by region as follows: ▲Seoul 90 schools ▲Gyeonggi 14 schools ▲Jeonnam 14 schools ▲Gyeongbuk 13 schools.

Confirmed student cases by region are ▲Gyeonggi 331 ▲Seoul 254 ▲Incheon 65 ▲Chungbuk 49 ▲Chungnam 47 ▲Gyeongbuk 33 ▲Daegu 29 ▲Gyeongnam 24 ▲Busan 24 ▲Jeonbuk 22 ▲Jeonnam 20, among others.

Out of 20,447 schools nationwide from kindergarten to high school, 99.0% (20,249 schools) held in-person classes. Schools that observed discretionary holidays accounted for 0.3% (53 schools).

As of 4 p.m. the previous day, 4.93 million out of 5.94 million students nationwide (83.1%) attended school.

Over five days, new confirmed cases among university students totaled 155, averaging 31.0 per day, and university staff confirmed cases totaled 10, averaging 2.0 per day. Since March, the cumulative number of confirmed university student cases is 10,425, and university staff cases total 778.