Anxious Full Return to School... Average of 485 Student Confirmed Cases per Day in the Past Week

Average Daily Increase of 86 Compared to Previous Week
Average Daily Confirmed Cases Near 500
Capital Region 2.74 Times Higher Than Non-Capital Areas

On the 22nd, marking the solar term of Soseol (Small Snow) and the arrival of severe cold, students hurried home wearing thick clothes at Seodaemun Independence Park in Seoul. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, tomorrow morning's temperature is expected to drop below freezing, and strong winds will make the wind chill feel even colder. Northern Gyeonggi and inland Gangwon are expected to reach -5°C, while other central regions and the Gyeongbuk area will also fall below 0°C. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The number of COVID-19 student cases has approached an average of 500 per day over the past week, setting a new record high.

According to the Ministry of Education on the 2nd, from the 25th of last month to the 1st of this month, a total of 3,394 confirmed cases were reported among students in kindergartens, elementary, middle, and high schools nationwide, averaging 484.9 cases per day.

Since the full return to in-person classes on November 22, the number of student cases has surged, continuously breaking previous records. Compared to the previous week from the 18th to the 24th of last month (398.6 cases), the daily number of confirmed cases increased by 86.3.

The average daily confirmed cases by region are 355.3 in the metropolitan area and 129.6 in non-metropolitan areas. The metropolitan area accounts for 2.74 times the number of cases in non-metropolitan areas.

The number of confirmed student cases by region is as follows: ▲Gyeonggi 1,243 ▲Seoul 973 ▲Incheon 271 ▲Gyeongnam 130 ▲Busan 119 ▲Daegu 110 ▲Gyeongbuk 92 ▲Chungnam 82 ▲Jeju 75 ▲Daejeon 55 ▲Gwangju 53 ▲Gwangju 52.

During the same period, the number of confirmed cases among school staff was 38.9 per day. In the metropolitan area, 24.9 cases were confirmed daily, and 14.0 cases in non-metropolitan areas.

The number of confirmed university student cases over the week was 355, averaging 50.7 per day, and university staff cases were 53, averaging 7.6 per day.

On the 1st, the Ministry of Education and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency appealed for increased participation in COVID-19 vaccination among children and adolescents to ensure stable full in-person schooling. To raise vaccination rates, additional pre-registrations were accepted, and the vaccination deadline was extended to January 22 of next year.

From the 13th to the 24th, a two-week period has been designated as the "Intensive Vaccination Support Week," during which health center vaccination teams will visit schools that wish to participate to conduct school-level vaccinations.

Since the phased return to normal life began, community infections have increased, with the COVID-19 incidence rate among children and adolescents rising from 7.7 per 100,000 in the first week of November to 9.1 per 100,000 in the fourth week. The proportion of confirmed cases among children and adolescents is ▲6.1% (3,630 cases) in September ▲9.1% (4,837 cases) in October ▲8.0% (6,613 cases) as of November 30.

The Ministry of Education stated that if an emergency plan is activated, in the first stage, school density will be reduced to two-thirds in oversized and overcrowded classes. In the second stage, attendance will be limited to three-quarters for grades 3 to 6 in elementary schools, and two-thirds for middle and high schools, expanding the adjustment of school density to other schools.