Concerns over resurgence as elementary, middle, and high schools reopen
Hospitalizations exceed 1,400… Growth rate slows
As the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) resurgence in earnest, group infections are reappearing, with about 30% of the entire student body at a boarding high school in Gangwon Province confirmed to have the virus. The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in the third week of August was 1,444, the highest number this year, although the increase has slowed.
According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on the 22nd, the number of COVID-19 hospitalized patients at 220 surveillance hospitals nationwide from the 11th to the 17th of this month increased by 5.7% from the previous week to 1,444. The number of COVID-19 hospitalized patients was only 63 in the fourth week of June (23rd to 29th), but began to increase rapidly in July, reaching 474 in the fourth week of July (21st to 27th) and 1,366 in the second week of August (4th to 10th). Experts estimate that the number of confirmed cases will be around 200,000 if mild patients who were not tested or hospitalized are included.
At a meeting of relevant government agencies on COVID-19, Director Young-mi Ji of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said on this day, “The summer epidemic will show a downward trend after this week or next week, and the number of confirmed cases at the peak will be smaller than the initially expected 350,000.” Considering the slowing trend, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency does not plan to raise the crisis level, such as social distancing. However, as the start of the school year for elementary, middle, and high schools overlaps with a period of resurgence of COVID-19, students and parents are concerned about the possibility of group infections. In fact, a boarding high school in Gangwon Province reported its first confirmed case two days after the start of the school year last week, and the cumulative number of confirmed cases has since rapidly increased to 49, or 30% of the student body.
Cafeteria partitions again, hospitals make masks mandatory
Coronavirus cases surge ahead of school opening
Schools that ‘suspend attendance’ at the discretion of the principal
Nursing homes with many vulnerable elderly people are in emergency
Concerns about overload due to increase in critically ill patients
22nd, Ujeon Elementary School, Hyoja-dong, Wansan-gu, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do.
At the dining hall tables where students eat, transparent droplet prevention partitions were installed. As the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) began in earnest ahead of the start of the second semester, the school reinstalled the partitions that had been used in the past. An official from the Jeonbuk Provincial Office of Education said, “In the case of Ujeon Elementary School, five students tested positive for COVID-19 and are not attending school,” and “Although it is not mandatory, the number of schools voluntarily installing partitions to protect students will increase.”
In elementary, middle, and high schools, the resurgence of COVID-19 coincides with the start of the new school year, causing confusion among teachers, students, and parents. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Education is leaving it up to the schools to decide on all matters such as whether to ban confirmed cases from attending school and whether to wear masks, saying, “We cannot take mandatory measures unless the health authorities strengthen quarantine rules.”
● Confirmed cases in elementary, middle, and high schools are on the rise, including 595 in Seoul and 900 in Gyeongnam
Since the start of the new school year last week, COVID-19 cases have been on the rise in elementary, middle, and high schools across the country, increasing anxiety among students and parents. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, 595 elementary, middle, and high school students in Seoul have tested positive for COVID-19 as of the 22nd. In Busan, about 300 students have tested positive as of the 21st, and in Gyeongnam, about 900 students have tested positive as of the 20th.
Provincial offices of education across the country are receiving a steady stream of inquiries related to COVID-19. Many are asking about whether students should go to school if they are confirmed positive. Since the COVID-19 crisis level was lowered from “caution” to “concern” in May, the obligation to isolate confirmed students has disappeared, so the decision to “suspend school attendance” is now up to the discretion of the school principal.
The Ministry of Education announced guidelines on the 16th stating, “If you have a confirmed case and have a high fever and severe respiratory symptoms, we recommend that you do not go to school,” but this is not mandatory. Parents have different opinions. Some schools have announced a policy of “suspending confirmed cases from attending school” under the authority of the principal, but some parents have filed complaints with the Office of Education, saying, “Suspension of school is excessive.” A Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education official said, “There are also parents who want to send their children to school because they have confirmed cases and it is difficult to take care of them at home.”
In a situation where the heat continues, it is difficult to enforce mask wearing. In the case of a boarding high school in Gangwon Province, where about 30% of the students have tested positive, both teachers and students are wearing masks while taking classes, but this is an exceptional case.
● Some hospitals are making masks mandatory
Hospitals that are frequented by the elderly and patients with underlying diseases are also on high alert. In Jeollanam-do, there are 19 places where more than 10 people have been confirmed with COVID-19 this month, most of which are nursing hospitals and nursing homes.
On the 14th, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency announced a policy that “We strongly recommend that both workers and visitors wear masks in vulnerable facilities such as hospitals.” Since then, large hospitals have been posting signs inside that say things like, “If you have a fever or respiratory symptoms, please wear a mask.”
Some hospitals have even made mask-wearing mandatory. A hospital in Dongjak-gu, Seoul recently announced a policy stating, “We will prohibit entry to hospitals without masks.”
In the case of the elderly, the probability of becoming seriously ill or dying from COVID-19 is much higher than that of the general population. Of the 15,224 COVID-19 hospitalized patients this year, 65.6% (9,991 people) are over 65 years old. For the elderly over 80, the COVID-19 fatality rate is 0.73%, which is nearly 15 times the overall average (0.05%). On the 21st, a 90-year-old man who collapsed at his home in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province the day before died from heat-related illness and COVID-19.
The medical community predicts that even if the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases declines next month as health authorities expect, hospitals will continue to be overloaded with severely ill patients for a while. Professor Lee Jae-gap of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Hallym University Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital said, “There are many elderly patients who are admitted to intensive care units after developing various complications after being diagnosed with COVID-19,” and “Even after the number of confirmed cases slows down, the number of severely ill patients is likely to increase for the time being, so health authorities should make every effort to stabilize the medical system.”
Reporter Park Seong-min [email protected]
Wonju = Reporter Lee In-mo [email protected]
Reporter Yeo Geun-ho [email protected]
Jeonju = Reporter Park Young-min [email protected]
Busan = Reporter Kim Hwa-young [email protected]
2024-08-22 22:36:44