Seoul - The discovery of new coronavirus
cases in two students marred the reopening of South Korean
schools on Wednesday, forcing 75 high schools to turn pupils
away amid fears among some teachers that it was unsafe for
classes to resume.
Some students were sent home almost as soon as they had
walked through their school gates for the first time this year,
after the two high school seniors tested positive in Incheon on
Wednesday morning, the education ministry said.
The beginning of the spring semester had been postponed
several times since March as South Korea battled the first large
coronavirus outbreak outside China, with classes held online.
But with daily coronavirus cases sharply down since a
February peak, most of South Korea's 2,356 high schools reopened
under new health protocols to prevent the spread of the disease.
All schools will reopen in stages between May 20 and June 1.
Teachers with thermometers and hand sanitisers welcomed
seniors at school gates, checking each student for signs of
fever.
Some of the 17-18 year-olds put their arms around their
friends' shoulders as they were reunited, only for teachers to
tell them to keep their distance. Private sanitation contractors
on motorcycles drove back and forth spraying disinfectant.
Under the new sanitation rules, students and teachers must
wear masks except at mealtimes and clean their desks, which will
be spaced 1 metre (3 feet) apart.
Senior students eat lunch at tables equipped with plastic barriers to prevent possible spread of the new coronavirus in the cafeteria at Jeonmin High School in Daejeon, South Korea. Picture: Kim Jun-beom/Yonhap via AP
Some teachers are unhappy with the arrangements. One told
Reuters on condition of anonymity that certain rules - such as
setting specific times of the day when students can use the
bathroom - were "practically impossible to implement".
"I feel like we're carrying a time bomb," said the high
school teacher in Gyeonggi Province.
The education ministry keeps track of whether teachers or
students have a fever using an online self-diagnostic system and
anyone with a temperature over 37.5 degrees Celsius must stay home.
If any student tests positive for the virus, the entire
school will switch to online classes for at least two weeks.
Korea has reported 11,110 coronavirus cases, with 263
deaths.