Within 4 Weeks of Full In-Person Schooling... Student Confirmed Cases Increase from 456 to 869

Average 869 Daily Cases in Past Week
456.6 → 563.6 → 800.7 → 869.0
40.1% of Children and Adolescents Fully Vaccinated
Two-Thirds School Attendance from 20th, One Month After Full Return

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The average number of daily confirmed student cases has increased from 456 to 869 over the past month.

On the 16th, the Ministry of Education announced that from the 9th to the 15th, the number of confirmed cases among kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high school students was 6,083, averaging 869 per day.

Looking at the trend of student confirmed cases over the past four weeks: ▲November 18-24: 456.6 ▲November 25-December 1: 563.6 ▲December 2-8: 800.7 ▲December 9-15: 869.0.

By school level, the increase in confirmed cases among elementary students was particularly notable, rising from 229.6 to 502.7 over four weeks.

Middle school students increased from 137.9 to 188.9, kindergarteners from 30.3 to 83.4, and high school students from 55.3 to 88.4.

The average daily number of confirmed cases among school staff also doubled over four weeks, increasing from 35.3 to ▲44.3 ▲70.7 ▲72.1 during the same period.

In the past week, the number of confirmed student cases by region was ▲Gyeonggi 2,062 ▲Seoul 1,670 ▲Incheon 467 ▲Busan 330 ▲Gyeongnam 248 ▲Gyeongbuk 239 ▲Chungnam 168 ▲Gangwon 167 ▲Daegu 153 ▲Daejeon 126.

Confirmed cases among university students increased from 52.7 to 67.0 over four weeks, while staff cases rose from 7.9 to 12.6.

The vaccination rate for children and adolescents was 40.1% as of midnight on the 16th. The first dose completion rate was 55.9%. The second dose completion rates by age group were 26.5% for ages 12-15 and 67.9% for ages 16-17. The first dose completion rates were 75.1% for ages 16-17 and 46.6% for ages 12-15.

Starting from the 20th, the Ministry of Education will adjust the density of all schools in the metropolitan area and oversized/overcrowded schools in non-metropolitan areas to two-thirds capacity. For elementary schools, this includes grades 1 and 2 up to grade 5/6, and for middle and high schools, up to two-thirds capacity. Kindergartens, special schools, after-school care programs, and small or rural schools will operate normally. School density can be flexibly adjusted depending on the infection situation by region. If necessary, full remote classes are also possible.

Winter vacation varies by school, but more than half start on December 20 or 27. From the 20th, 24.8% of elementary, 9.4% of middle, and 42.2% of high schools begin vacation. From the 27th, 42.2% of elementary, 45.7% of middle, and 37.9% of high schools start vacation. Schools starting vacation after January 3 account for 26.7% of elementary, 40.9% of middle, and 27.2% of high schools.