Gov't expands college entrance test sites for COVID-19 patients

SEOUL, Nov. 13 (Yonhap) -- With days to go before the annual state college entrance exam, the government is moving to tighten coronavirus prevention and control measures, such as expanding test sites for patients, amid concerns over another wave of infections, officials said Sunday.

More than 508,000 applicants, including high school seniors and graduates, are expected to sit for the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), a single-day five-session exam, at some 1,370 test sites nationwide Thursday.

It is the third CSAT the country has held since the COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020 and the first in which applicants who have tested positive are allowed to leave their homes and hospitals to take the exam on-site.

The education ministry said it has expanded the number of test sites for patients at schools to 110 from 108 and those at hospitals to 25 from 24, which can accommodate up to some 4,900 students who have tested positive.

Ministry data from Nov. 1-7 showed that 1,858 high school seniors have tested positive, raising concerns that the number of ill applicants may sharply increase in the wake of a resurgence in COVID-19 cases.

South Korea reported 62,472 new virus cases Wednesday, the highest level in nearly two months, compared with the same time last year when 96 applicants had tested positive when daily cases hovered at around 3,000.

Noting that there are plenty of test sites for patients, the education ministry urged students to immediately get tested when they have symptoms and report to their respective education offices.

mlee@yna.co.kr
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