Full remote classes allowed at schools for 2 weeks amid looming virus peak: gov't

SEOUL, Feb. 21 (Yonhap) -- Schools will be allowed to provide full remote classes during the first two weeks of the spring semester beginning in March, the government announced Monday, amid predictions that new daily virus cases will reach as high as 270,000 in the coming weeks.

The education ministry said it designated March 2-11 as a new semester adjustment period for schools to deal with their respective virus situations, allowing establishments prone to high risk of transmissions to flexibly shorten school hours or operate fully online classes.

Earlier this month, the ministry announced that schools will be recommended against shifting to full remote learning under a new four-tier operation scheme unless 3 percent of students test positive or 15 percent go into self-quarantine due to infections or close contact with patients.

Monday's decision will allow schools to shift to full remote learning at their discretion regardless of the previously suggested virus-related metrics during the first two weeks of March.

The announcement was made soon after health authorities forecast the current coronavirus wave to peak between the end of this month and early March, with the daily caseload expected to reach 140,000-270,000.

"While we asked schools to be cautious in adopting full remote classes in our Feb. 7 announcement, we have seen an increase in experts who point out that the omicron variant situation will peak from early to mid March," a ministry official explained.

odissy@yna.co.kr
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