Nationwide 5-Day Average of Student COVID-19 Cases at 574 per Day... Another Record High

After Full Return to School, Cases Jump from 300s to 500s
89.5 More Daily Cases Than Previous Week
Omicron Confirmed in Foreign Students, University Areas on Alert

On the morning of the 22nd, after more than two years since the COVID-19 pandemic, kindergartens and elementary, middle, and high schools nationwide began full in-person attendance, and students are attending school at an elementary school in Seoul. Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The average daily number of confirmed COVID-19 cases among elementary, middle, and high school students nationwide has increased to 574.4 over the past five days.

On the 7th, the Ministry of Education reported that from the 2nd to the 6th, there were 2,872 confirmed student cases nationwide, averaging 574.4 per day. Compared to the previous week (November 25 to December 1), when the daily average was 484.9, this is an increase of 89.5 cases.

With the nationwide daily confirmed cases rising to the 5,000 range and the emergence of the Omicron variant, the number of student cases has been hitting new daily highs. Since full in-person classes resumed, the average daily student cases have surged from the 300s to the 500s. The cumulative number of confirmed student cases since March is 44,932.

The number of confirmed student cases by region over the five days is as follows: ▲Gyeonggi 1,135 ▲Seoul 552 ▲Incheon 199 ▲Chungnam 168 ▲Daegu 121 ▲Busan 120 ▲Gyeongnam 96 ▲Daejeon 95 ▲Gangwon 76 ▲Gyeongbuk 72 ▲Chungbuk 61 ▲Jeju 58.

As of 10 a.m. on the day, 98.6% (20,159 schools) of the 20,447 schools nationwide held in-person classes. Remote classes were held at 1.1% (224 schools), and discretionary holidays were observed at 0.3% (64 schools). The number of schools conducting remote classes has roughly doubled compared to the end of November.

In the metropolitan area, 98.0% (7,591 schools) of 7,743 schools held in-person classes, and 0.5% (41 schools) observed discretionary holidays. In non-metropolitan areas, 98.9% (12,568 schools) of 12,704 schools held in-person classes, and 0.2% (23 schools) observed discretionary holidays.

Among students attending in-person classes, as of 4 p.m. the previous day, 87.8% (5.21 million) of 5.94 million students attended. With confirmed cases rising across the country, the number of students attending in-person classes decreased by 160,000 compared to the previous week.

There were 240 confirmed cases among school staff over five days, averaging 48 per day. The cumulative total since March is 3,285.

In the past five days, there have been 282 new confirmed cases among university students and 41 among university staff. Since March, the cumulative confirmed cases are 12,590 for university students and 1,051 for university staff.

On this day, three foreign international students enrolled at Seoul National University, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, and Kyung Hee University were confirmed to have the Omicron variant, raising alarms about infection control on campuses.

They were identified as having visited a church in Michuhol-gu, Incheon, attended by the pastor couple who were the first confirmed Omicron cases in Korea. They attended the same church service as the pastor couple on the 28th of last month and tested positive for COVID-19 on the 3rd.

Hankuk University of Foreign Studies will switch all classes to online from the 8th to the 14th. Final exams will be conducted in person only for some classes. The capacity of the library reading rooms included in the movement paths of the confirmed international students will be limited to 30% until the 11th. Previously, the university advised students who attended the same classes or used the library to get tested.

Seoul National University has quarantined those classified as close contacts, and since the confirmed student resided in a dormitory, dormitory residents have been required to undergo rapid PCR testing on campus. With more than a week remaining until the semester break, the university is also considering switching to remote classes. Kyung Hee University confirmed that the infected international student lived in a dormitory and plans to recommend COVID-19 testing to students living on the same floor.