Wear Health Masks When Returning to School for New Semester... Contact Tracing Conducted if Dining or Talking with Confirmed Cases

Schools Conduct Internal Investigations; Attendance Methods Vary Based on Confirmed and Quarantined Ratios
Unvaccinated Individuals Quarantined for 7 Days if Close Contact or Household Member Confirmed
Check for Wearing KF80 or Higher Masks When Attending School... Respiratory Patients Exempted

As the government decided to reinforce social distancing measures again, students are attending school in front of a middle school in Seoul on the 17th, the day it was announced that all schools in the metropolitan area and large schools and overcrowded classes in non-metropolitan areas will stop full attendance starting from the 20th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Starting from the new semester, school academic and quarantine standards will undergo major changes to respond to the Omicron variant. When a confirmed case appears, the school will conduct its own investigation of contacts; those who have spent time in the same classroom, eaten together, or conversed without masks for more than 15 minutes will be classified as contacts. The method of academic operation will vary depending on the number of confirmed and quarantined individuals within the school.

On the 7th, the Ministry of Education announced the new semester academic operation and quarantine system, which sets attendance criteria based on the status of confirmed and quarantined individuals by school and requires self-investigation when a confirmed case occurs. As confirmed cases are expected to peak after the March school opening, the Ministry has moved away from determining school density uniformly and instead allows flexible academic operation standards tailored to the school or regional situation.

To enable normal attendance as before COVID-19, the proportion of newly confirmed cases among enrolled students must not exceed 3%, and the proportion of attendance suspension (confirmed and quarantined individuals) must not exceed 15%. If either condition is not met, full attendance plus restrictions on (non-)curricular activities will be applied; if both conditions are exceeded, partial attendance will be implemented. In case of a rapid increase in confirmed cases, the Ministry of Education, quarantine authorities, and education offices will consult to switch to full remote classes. Kindergarten, grades 1 and 2 in elementary school, special schools, after-school care, and small or rural schools will attend daily.

Concerns have arisen that with only one health teacher per school and potential complaints from parents regarding the school's self-investigation results, the Ministry of Education has proposed additional measures to alleviate the burden. They are considering supporting up to 70,000 dedicated school quarantine personnel and health teacher assistants, and in consultation with metropolitan and provincial education offices, also supporting emergency response teams.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye stated, "It is true that the workload at schools is increasing, but schools will not be fully held responsible. The school's self-investigation of quarantine is an alternative due to the limitations of not being able to proceed with the past method, and since it is not a legal investigation, schools will not be legally liable for the investigation process or results."

Attendance criteria for confirmed and quarantined individuals are as follows: if a student is confirmed positive, they must quarantine for 7 days regardless of vaccination status; close contacts who are fully vaccinated may attend school under passive monitoring, but unvaccinated individuals must suspend attendance for 7 days. If a household member is confirmed positive, fully vaccinated individuals are under passive monitoring, while unvaccinated individuals must quarantine for 7 days. If a household member is a close contact, both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals may attend school without quarantine.

The Ministry of Education has also defined the scope of investigation when a confirmed case occurs within a school. The first group includes students or staff who share the same space, such as members of the same class, dormitory roommates, or colleagues in the same office. Contacts also include those who have shared meals with the confirmed case from two days before symptom onset (or specimen collection date). The entire row in front and up to three seats to the left and right in the cafeteria are included in the investigation. Contacts also include those who have conversed without masks for more than 15 minutes from two days before symptom onset (or specimen collection date).

When a confirmed case is identified at school, symptomatic individuals or high-risk contacts must obtain a principal's opinion letter to receive PCR testing at screening clinics and may attend school if negative. Asymptomatic contacts identified through the school's self-investigation must conduct at least three rapid antigen tests over seven days at home, medical institutions, or screening clinics and may attend school if negative.

From the new semester, students must wear health masks (KF80 or higher), and schools must check mask-wearing status upon attendance. Previously, droplet-blocking masks were allowed, but from the new semester, only those who have difficulty wearing health masks due to respiratory diseases may wear other masks. After completing a 7-day quarantine, individuals must wear a KF94 (or equivalent) mask for 3 days as a precaution.

Classroom windows must be kept open at all times, and gyms should avoid classes with two or more grades simultaneously. In the brushing rooms, the number of users cannot exceed the number of brushing facilities at the same time.

Dormitory students must conduct rapid antigen tests at home, designated medical institutions, or screening clinics before admission. They must also conduct at least one rapid antigen test per week during weekdays and undergo temperature checks twice daily.

The Ministry of Education plans to purchase and stock 6.5 million rapid antigen test kits, approximately 20% of students and staff per school, using education office budgets. Mobile PCR testing labs will be installed in metropolitan and provincial education offices, and mobile specimen collection teams will operate concurrently.