1450 Students Confirmed COVID-19 Positive in Seoul Over a Week... Omicron Alert at Universities

Seoul Student Cases Increase by 360 Compared to Last Week
School Visit Vaccinations Implemented After Final Exams
3 International Students from Seoul National University, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, and Kyung Hee University Confirmed with Omicron

On the 7th, the COVID-19 screening clinic in front of Seoul City Hall is crowded with citizens seeking testing. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Since the full return to in-person classes, COVID-19 has been spreading, leading to a significant increase in confirmed cases among students, especially elementary and middle school students.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education on the 7th, from the 29th of last month to the 5th, there were 1,450 confirmed student cases and 104 confirmed staff cases, totaling 1,554. This is an increase of 360 from the previous week's 1,090 cases. The infection routes for students are primarily family infections (36.0%, 559 cases), followed by in-school infections (25.0%, 388 cases), and out-of-school infections (7.0%, 110 cases). Cases with unknown infection routes account for 32.0% (497 cases).

The number of confirmed cases by school level is as follows: 793 in elementary schools, 359 in middle schools, 140 in 1st and 2nd year high school students, 114 in kindergartens, and 29 in 3rd year high school students. The number of confirmed elementary students increased by 248, middle school students by 40, and 1st and 2nd year high school students by 30 compared to the previous week. Kindergarten cases also rose by 49. The education authorities recommend vaccination for students, but resistance continues among parents and students.

The total number of COVID-19 confirmed cases and critically ill patients is also on the rise. According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, as of midnight on this day, there were 4,954 new confirmed cases. This is the first time the Monday count has reached the 4,000 range and is the highest number recorded. The number of critically ill patients exceeded 770, setting a new record since the COVID-19 outbreak. There were 64 deaths, the second highest ever recorded.

Three foreign students enrolled at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Kyung Hee University, and Seoul National University, classified as suspected Omicron infection cases, were confirmed to be infected with the Omicron variant on this day. All of them were found to have visited a church in Michuhol-gu, Incheon, attended by the pastor couple who were the first confirmed Omicron cases in Korea. This is the first confirmed Omicron variant case in Seoul. Concerns about the spread of the Omicron variant are growing, especially around university campuses.

On the 7th, the COVID-19 screening clinic in front of Seoul City Hall is crowded with citizens seeking testing. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

The Ministry of Education will survey the vaccination willingness of students aged 12 to 17 and their guardians at the school level by the 8th, then conduct school-based vaccination visits for two weeks starting from the 13th. The target age groups, 2nd year middle school and 1st and 2nd year high school students, usually take final exams from the 6th to the 24th, and vaccinations are expected to begin first at schools that have completed their final exams.

However, voices opposing vaccination and the vaccine pass are growing louder. Lee Yoon-kyung, president of the National Parents Association for True Education, appeared on the radio that day and said, "The government claims vaccination for adolescents is voluntary, but by making unvaccinated adolescents unable to go anywhere, they are effectively forcing vaccination." She added, "It is contradictory to require full in-person classes while applying the vaccine pass to other less crowded spaces to protect adolescents." A public petition against the vaccine pass by a 2nd year high school student received 200,000 signatures by the 5th since its first posting on the 26th of last month, and surpassed 300,000 signatures by the morning of the 7th, just two days later.