Schools ordered to move online amid COVID-19 resurgence

An elementary student walks to school with her mother in Mapo-gu, western Seoul, Tuesday. Schools in the Seoul metropolitan area must shift to online classes for two weeks due to the coronavirus outbreak. / Yonhap

Doctors to push for full-scale strike today

By Bahk Eun-ji

The Ministry of Education ordered all elementary, middle and high schools and kindergartens in the Seoul metropolitan area, Tuesday, to move classes online, beginning today, amid the soaring number of COVID-19 infections among students and teachers.

The ministry announced the plan in a joint briefing with the education offices of Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province. The measure was in response to the recent surge in the number of students, teachers as well as faculty members becoming infected amid the full-fledged opening of schools.

“About 193 students and faculty members tested positive for COVID-19 in the Seoul metropolitan area alone between Aug. 11 and 23, and 76 percent of these infections occurred in the past two weeks since starting classes in schools,” Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae said during an emergency press briefing at the Government Complex in Seoul.

There is a high possibility of the virus spreading due to outbreaks in schools if the schools keep their doors open, Yoo added. “We need to prevent the virus from spreading in classrooms by this week when Level 2 social distancing rules are applied to protect our children in schools.”

Since high school seniors resumed onsite classes May 20, more than 300 students have been infected with COVID-19. According to data collected by the education ministry, 307 students have been confirmed infected nationwide, as of midnight Monday, with the cumulative number of cases among school staff reaching 74.

Amid the prolonged coronavirus fears, 1,845 schools halted onsite classes, Monday, more than double the 849 recorded Friday. Among them, 149 are in Seoul, 422 in Gyeonggi Province and 167 in Incheon.

The measure does not apply to high school seniors, who are scheduled to take the national university entrance exam Dec. 3. Around 480,000 students are expected to take the state-run test, which has been postponed by two weeks.

Small schools with less than 60 students and special education schools are given autonomy in whether to follow the ministry's instructions.

The ministry said it will review whether or not to extend online teaching based on the level of social distancing measures the quarantine authorities impose. When Level 3 social distancing rules are enforced, all schools across the country are advised to switch to remote learning.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported 280 new infections, Monday, including 264 local cases, raising the total caseload to 17,945. It marked a slight increase from 266 cases identified the previous day.

Since the country reported 103 new cases on Aug. 14, when the number of daily cases rose to triple digits, sporadic infections have emerged, mostly linked with a church in northern Seoul and an anti-government demonstration held Aug. 15.

Meanwhile, more doctors including interns and residents at general hospitals and regional clinics are expected to participate in a three-day strike beginning today to protest the government's medical workforce reform plan. The full-scale strike raises concerns about disruptions to the healthcare system amid the recent resurgence of infections.

The collective action comes as thousands of trainee doctors have been staging an indefinite strike since late last week, calling for the government to scrap its plan to increase the medical student quota and establish a public medical school.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun met representatives of the Korean Intern and Resident Association (KIRA) and the Korean Medical Association (KMA), which represents 130,000 doctors here, but the talks did not lead to a major breakthrough.