Seoul elementary school graduation ceremony held in 2021. On the 13th, the 8th graduation ceremony of Seoul Woosol Elementary School in Seocho-gu, Seoul is being held in person due to Corona 19. Photo Joint Report Group
The quarantine authorities will evaluate the risk of coronavirus infection (Corona 19) for lower grade elementary school students and discuss whether or not to resume school classes. It is based on a survey that their risk of corona 19 infection is relatively lower than that of adolescents and adults.
Kwon Jun-wook, head of the 2nd vice president of the Central Defense Countermeasures Headquarters, said at the Corona 19 regular briefing on the 23rd and said, “We will actively discuss the contents of attendance with the educational authorities and related experts.” This is a remark after Prime Minister Jeong Sye-gyun ordered the Ministry of Education to review the class plan for the new semester.
Deputy General Manager Kwon mentioned the school-related Corona 19 outbreak announced by the World Health Organization (WHO). “Children and adolescents make up about 30% of the world’s population, but they account for about 8% of the COVID-19 outbreak. Relatively, the scale and infectivity of Corona 19 transmission decline in children under the age of 10.” However, the announcement also included the point that “the number of cases of group outbreaks is more among middle and high school students, such as 16-18 years of age, than elementary schools.” Regarding this, Deputy Head of Kwon explained, “In conclusion, the WHO said that schools have never been in a large-scale group infection environment, especially in elementary schools, unless the quarantine rules are not properly followed.
The quarantine authorities will discuss future school schedules based on the WHO announcement. Deputy General Manager Kwon said, “I will again carefully evaluate the risk of Corona 19 in the lower grades of elementary school,” and said, “I will actively work on discussing the directions for various quarantine measures.”
Earlier, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Commissioner Jeong Eun-kyung recently published a paper in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, stating that the effect of the suspension of school measures to curb the spread of Corona 19 infection was minimal. In the thesis, the analysis found that “three cases (2.4%) of children and adolescents with corona 19 were infected through school.”
The thesis surveyed 127 confirmed corona19 patients in children and adolescents aged 13-18 from May 1 to July 12 last year, when school attendance classes resumed. Looking at the infection route of other confirmed cases, 59 (46.5%) were infected through family members and relatives. Infection through entrance examination academy or private tutoring was followed by 18 patients (14.2%). Eight people (6.3%) were infected through multi-use facilities such as coin karaoke rooms, PC rooms, and churches.
Reporter Chae Hye-seon [email protected]