Average Daily Student COVID-19 Cases at 707 in the Past Week... 221 More Than the Previous Week

706.6 Students Confirmed Daily Over a Week... Another Record High
490.6 Students in Seoul Metropolitan Area, 216.0 in Non-Metropolitan Areas Confirmed
34.1% Completion Rate for 2nd Dose Vaccination Among 12-17 Year Olds

On the morning of the 22nd, when full in-person attendance begins for kindergartens, elementary, middle, and high schools in the Seoul metropolitan area, the first period class is starting at an elementary school in Seoul. Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] In the past week, the average daily number of confirmed COVID-19 cases among students from kindergarten to high school nationwide was 707, marking an increase of more than 200 cases compared to the previous week and setting a new record high.

According to the Ministry of Education on the 9th, from the 2nd to the 8th, a total of 4,946 students were confirmed positive, averaging 706.6 cases per day.

In the previous week (November 25 to December 1), the average daily number of confirmed student cases was 484.9, which means an increase of 221.7 cases. It is unusual for the average daily confirmed cases to increase by more than 200 within a week.

The average daily number of confirmed cases by region was 490.6 in the Seoul metropolitan area and 216.0 in non-metropolitan areas. The metropolitan area’s figure is 2.27 times higher than that of non-metropolitan areas.

The number of confirmed student cases by region is as follows: ▲Gyeonggi 1,789 ▲Seoul 1,301 ▲Incheon 344 ▲Chungnam 252 ▲Busan 183 ▲Gyeongnam 167 ▲Daegu 166 ▲Daejeon 127 ▲Gyeongbuk 120 ▲Gangwon 115 ▲Jeonbuk 95 ▲Jeju 88 ▲Chungbuk 78.

Regarding vaccination status for children and adolescents (ages 12-17) as of midnight on the 9th, the second dose completion rate is 34.1%, and the first dose completion rate is 50.2%, which increased by 2.9 percentage points and 7.6 percentage points respectively compared to the previous week.

The second dose completion rates by age are ▲12 years old 10.0% ▲13 years old 17.4% ▲14 years old 21.9% ▲15 years old 24.8% ▲16 years old 60.5% ▲17 years old 70.7%.

The average daily number of confirmed cases among school staff in the past week was 65.1, with 45.4 cases in the metropolitan area and 19.7 cases in non-metropolitan areas.

The number of confirmed university student cases over the week was 449, averaging 64.1 cases per day, and university staff cases totaled 74, averaging 10.6 cases per day.