More than 200 schools in S. Korea forced to close again after biggest surge in COVID-19 in weeks

Right after South Korea had allowed children to return to school last Wednesday (27 May), the nation witnessed a spike in COVID-19 cases reported in warehouses in the city of Bucheon, forcing the Government to shut down schools once again.

The country had started to ease the virus restrictions with the opening of schools last week, while instituting social distancing and precautionary measures.

However, The Korea Times reported that a total of 251 schools in Bucheon were forced to close following high infection rates in the communities, while 117 schools in Seoul had decided to postpone their reopenings.

According to BBC, it is “possible” that South Korea will continue to see a rise in cases as thousands of employees from the warehouses are being tested.

Apparently, it was reported that the facility in the warehouses have not been strictly complying with the infection control measures as traces of the coronavirus could be found on workers’ shoes and clothes.

Last week, after the new outbreak of the warehouse cluster, the Government also closed down public places like parks and museums in Seoul. The people were urged to avoid crowds and mass gatherings.

Health and Welfare Minister Park Neung-hoo assured that the officials are “trying their best to track down potentially infected people”.

However, he stated that community transmissions have “probably occurred already” or “may be quietly occurring now”.