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| Teachers set up transparent screens on desks at a high school in Daegu, Feb. 23, ahead of the upcoming new school semester. Yonhap |
By Bahk Eun-ji
Kindergartens and elementary, middle and high schools will open Tuesday to provide in-person classes for the new school year, despite lingering concerns over COVID-19 infections.
Although regular classes are permissible under the current social distancing level, the health authorities remain vigilant as the country's daily new coronavirus cases are still hovering over 300. In addition, vaccinations for teachers have yet to begin and children are not included in the government's vaccine program at all.
According to the Ministry of Education, Monday, kindergarteners, first and second graders at elementary school, high school seniors and special education students across the country will have in-person classes every day.
Students in other grades will go to school two or three times a week and take online classes for the other days, according to attendance caps in each region.
Teachers and student will have to install a self-diagnosis app to record their daily health condition, such as whether they show respiratory symptoms or fever ― a temperature higher than 37.5 degrees Celsius. Those with symptoms should get tested immediately and not attend school until cleared.
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| A medical worker prepares Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine at the National Medical Center in Seoul, Saturday. Yonhap |
Some educators and parents point out vaccinations for faculty should come first.
Under the government system, teachers are scheduled to receive shots starting in the third quarter of this year. Vaccines approved here so far are also for people aged 19 or over, so students are not yet included in the vaccination program.
The educators and parents recommended the government allow teachers to get vaccines first, at least within the first half of the year.
"We urge the government to inoculate teaching staff as early as possible in order to guarantee students the right to education," said Shin Hyun-wook, head of policy bureau of the Korea Federation of Teachers' Association.
As a panel of experts at the drug ministry reviewed the Pfizer vaccine recently and recommended the product to be used for people aged 16 and up, some educators proposed prioritizing vaccinations for high school seniors, ahead of college entrance exams later this year.
During the regular virus response meeting on Friday, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said it will decide whether teachers and students will be vaccinated earlier based on the results of a review for emergency use of the vaccines.
"When teachers can be vaccinated depends on the progress of vaccine introduction and inoculation," said Chung Kyung-sil, head of the KDCA's vaccination management team.
Regarding the idea of providing the Pfizer vaccine to high school seniors, Chung said the ministry has been reviewing the clinical test results of the Pfizer vaccine. "When the product gets final approval, we'll decide whether to use it for those aged 16 or older through discussion in the vaccination committee," Chung said.
Meanwhile, the country's daily new coronavirus cases stayed below 400 for the second straight day.
According to the KDCA, 355 new cases were detected for Sunday, including 338 local infections, raising the total caseload to 90,029. The total cases topped 90,000, about 13 months after Korea's first confirmed case was reported on Jan. 20, 2020.
