Student COVID-19 Cases Surpass 25,000, Setting New Record High
190,000 Fewer Students Attended School on Day 7 Compared to First Day of Semester
Middle Schools with Full Attendance at 39%, Lowest Among Schools, Elementary Schools at 53.6%
[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The number of schools that switched from full in-person classes to remote learning within five days of the new semester starting decreased from 84% to 66%. The number of students attending school on the Monday following the first day of school dropped by 190,000, and the number of schools transitioning to remote learning increased significantly.
According to data compiled by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education from February 28 to March 6, there were 25,122 confirmed student cases and 2,369 staff cases. This accounts for 8.6% of all confirmed cases in Seoul, representing a 6.3 percentage point increase compared to the previous week. The number of confirmed cases among students and staff increased by 21,845 compared to two weeks ago.
Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, stated, "Currently, each school is urgently adjusting density and varying attendance types based on daily confirmed case reports. Due to the increase in confirmed and attendance-suspended students, more schools are adjusting density. While 84.2% of schools started the new academic year with normal attendance on March 2, only about 66.2% of schools had normal attendance on the 7th."
On Monday, March 7, the second week of the semester, 623,556 students attended school, accounting for only 67.9% of all students. This is 190,000 fewer than the 813,882 students (88.7%) who attended on March 2.
As confirmed cases steadily increased after the semester began, 84.2% of schools had normal attendance on the first day, March 2, but only 66.2% could maintain normal attendance on the 7th. Especially in middle and high schools, where confirmed cases surged, many schools adjusted their attendance methods.
As of the 7th, the percentage of schools conducting full in-person classes was above half for elementary schools (53.6%) and high schools (59.2%), except for middle schools (39.1%). On March 2, the percentage of schools with full in-person classes was higher by about 15-60% across elementary (69.4%), middle (88.2%), and high schools (91.6%) compared to the 7th.
On the 7th, schools conducting full remote learning were highest in middle schools (8.2%), followed by high schools (6.2%) and elementary schools (0.7%). First and second graders in elementary schools, prioritized for full in-person attendance, attended school daily in 99% of schools. The Ministry of Education is operating a "New Semester Adaptation Week" until the 11th, allowing schools to adjust density or switch to remote learning as needed.
The weekly confirmed case rate per 10,000 students is highest in elementary schools (319.0), followed by high school grades 1-2 (264.2), middle schools (259.2), high school grade 3 (252.5), and kindergartens (132.2).
The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education purchases and distributes rapid antigen test kits every Friday. On March 4, about 1.97 million kits were distributed to students (2 kits each) and staff (1 kit each), with weekly purchases and distributions planned through the fifth week of March.
Additionally, mobile specimen collection teams are deployed to schools experiencing cluster infections until April 29 to support on-site mobile PCR testing. If a school lacks a health teacher or experiences a gap and has multiple confirmed cases, a "Health Teacher Assistance Team" is provided.
Superintendent Cho said, "Schools are struggling to secure substitute personnel due to the rapid increase in confirmed staff cases, so we will actively work to resolve the shortage of substitute personnel. To minimize gaps in health-related duties such as emergency care for students when health teachers are confirmed positive, we will directly hire retired health teachers, nurses, and other professionals to dispatch substitute personnel to schools that request assistance and operate a Health Teacher Assistance Team composed of these professionals."
The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education has temporarily relaxed hiring conditions for contract teachers to secure substitute personnel. Not only external personnel but also teachers on leave or secondment can participate as substitutes if they wish. Each of the 11 education support offices is recruiting a pool of hourly substitute instructors and is promoting cooperation with metropolitan area teacher training colleges and education universities.
Superintendent Cho emphasized, "The issue of vacancies caused by confirmed staff cases cannot be resolved by schools and the education office alone. We cannot imagine 'classrooms without teachers' or 'schools with only students remaining.' To ensure the swift recovery of confirmed staff and minimize class disruptions, the interest and participation of all citizens in supporting substitute personnel are urgently needed."
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