'수요일' 예정대로 고3 등교 시작..."여건따라 학년별 격주제 등 분산 등교"<br /><br />South Korea is set to reopen its schools this Wednesday, May 20th, as announced last week, starting with high school seniors.<br />Despite fears of another wave of COVID-19, officials believe they have the situation under control.<br />Kim Hyo-sun reports.<br />South Korean quarantine authorities say the current measures of distancing in daily life will be maintained,... despite the latest cluster infection in Seoul's central district of Itaewon.<br />"If current outbreak trends continue,... our stance is that the cluster infection from Itaewon will be stabilized within the scope of control of our quarantine authorities."<br />With this,... the nation's schools are set to reopen on Wednesday... as announced last week,... starting with high school seniors.<br />While there are still concerns,... a further postponement is deemed impossible considering the nation's academic schedule.<br />"We cannot let the eleven years of preparation by our students be in vain due to the COVID-19 outbreak."<br />The education ministry is considering alternatives across regions,... such as dividing up classes and holding classes every other day or biweekly.<br />For instance,... sophomores will go to school during the first week,... while freshmen will restart next week.<br />Schools are also mandated to strictly abide by quarantine guidelines.<br />Students or teachers whose body temperature is above 37-point-5 degrees Celsius have to stay home,... while first responders will be dispatched to school immediately if anyone shows symptoms of COVID-19.<br />Over the weekend,... President Moon Jae-in stated that further infections linked to Itaewon seem to be under control thanks to the country's swift virus testing and contact tracing efforts.<br />In a Facebook post,... President Moon also noted the daily number of domestic transmissions dropped to the single-digit level for the second straight day on Sunday.<br />He also thanked members of the public for faithfully complying with the principles of wearing face masks and sticking to distancing guidelines.<br />Kim Hyo-sun, Arirang News.<br />
