Ministry of Education: "No Change in Normal School Attendance Policy... Considering Omicron Variant"
About Half of Schools to Start Mid-Term Semester This Week, Concerns Over Gaps in Quarantine Guidelines
Schools Reviewing Supplementary Measures Such as Self-Test Kits and Rapid PCR
As the government decided to strengthen social distancing measures again, it was announced on the 17th that from the 20th, all schools in the metropolitan area, large schools outside the metropolitan area, and overcrowded classes will suspend full in-person attendance. Students are seen going to school near an elementary school in Seoul on the 17th. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@
[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The Ministry of Education will announce the academic operation plan for the new semester immediately after the Lunar New Year holiday. They are preparing school quarantine guidelines reflecting the trend of increasing confirmed cases due to the Omicron variant and are also discussing the introduction of self-test kits in schools.
At the regular briefing for the press corps held on the 24th, a Ministry of Education official stated, "The policy to promote normal attendance has not changed so far, and the academic operation plan to be announced after the Lunar New Year holiday will include content related to attendance and quarantine guidelines."
From this week, some elementary, middle, and high schools will start a mid-semester opening with attendance for 1 to 2 weeks.
According to the Ministry of Education, during this week (January 24?28), ▲840 elementary schools ▲151 middle schools ▲198 high schools will have mid-semester openings. Schools opening on February 3?4 include ▲715 elementary schools ▲324 middle schools ▲328 high schools. Schools opening from February 7?11 include ▲717 elementary schools ▲723 middle schools ▲734 high schools. Schools not conducting mid-semester openings number ▲3,899 elementary schools ▲2,070 middle schools ▲1,055 high schools.
About half of the schools will have mid-semester openings, but attendance will proceed for 1 to 2 weeks without new quarantine guidelines considering the Omicron variant. The Ministry of Education has ordered metropolitan and provincial education offices to strengthen quarantine management for attending students but finds it difficult to issue separate guidelines.
Regarding this, a Ministry of Education official said, "The school quarantine guidelines announced on December 16 were implemented when the number of confirmed cases was about 7,000, similar to now," and added, "Since the academic operation plan will be announced right after the Lunar New Year, sending changed guidelines to schools opening for 1 to 2 weeks could cause confusion."
Additionally, the Ministry of Education is considering introducing COVID-19 self-test kits in elementary, middle, and high schools from the new semester.
A Ministry of Education official explained, "There are pros and cons to self-test kits, so we have conducted an analysis and are consulting with related agencies considering the school environment, student acceptance, and testing efficiency."
Another option being discussed is to combine rapid PCR testing alongside the existing PCR tests. On the 17th, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye stated, "We will discuss new testing methods and related quarantine systems to complement existing PCR tests and prepare for a situation where many mild cases occur in schools."
At the briefing, a Ministry of Education official said, "It is necessary to comprehensively organize issues such as costs for testing equipment and facilities, existing application cases, school acceptance, and reviews by quarantine authorities," adding, "We are reviewing utilization plans considering the spread of the Omicron variant."
On the 18th, when the quarantine pass applied to large supermarkets and academies was lifted, an academy official is removing a vaccination notice at the Jongno Academy Gangbuk Main Branch in Mapo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@aymsdream@
Although legal disputes over its effectiveness continue, to be subject to the youth quarantine pass effective from March 1, vaccinations must be completed by today.
According to the Ministry of Education, as of 0:00 on the 24th, the vaccination status for ages 13?18 is ▲79.7% first dose completion ▲71.8% second dose completion. For ages 13?15, ▲71.3% first dose ▲61.1% second dose; for ages 16?18, ▲88.5% first dose ▲83.0% second dose.
Since the court's decision to suspend the enforcement of the quarantine pass, the vaccination increase rate has been slow. The first dose vaccination rate increased by 0.4 percentage points compared to last Friday, and the daily increase rate from the 18th to the 21st ranged between 0.1 and 0.2 percentage points.
Regarding this, a Ministry of Education official explained, "Although it is vacation period, we will focus on promotion to raise the vaccination rate as much as possible."
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