Despite lifted mandate, students still masking up

Home > National > Social Affairs

print dictionary print

Despite lifted mandate, students still masking up

First grade students attend a commencement ceremony with their masks on at an auditorium in Gangbit Elementary School in Gangdong District, eastern Seoul, Thursday. [NEWS1]

First grade students attend a commencement ceremony with their masks on at an auditorium in Gangbit Elementary School in Gangdong District, eastern Seoul, Thursday. [NEWS1]

 
Nearly all students showed up wearing masks for a commencement ceremony at an elementary school in Seoul on Thursday, despite Korea dropping its indoor mask mandate over a month ago.
 
“I am very delighted to attend the first face-to-face commencement ceremony since the pandemic,” the principal of Gangbit Elementary School in Gangdong District, eastern Seoul, said during the commencement ceremony held Thursday morning.
 
Thursday’s ceremony was the school's first offline commencement ceremony in about four years as many schools switched to virtual events during the Covid-19 pandemic.
 
The principal excitedly stood on stage with his mask off, in contrast to the students, who mostly had their masks on. 
 
Only four out of the 133 students in attendance had their masks off. 
 
With the lifting of the indoor mask mandate on Jan. 30, the Education Ministry decided to apply the rule as well in schools, allowing all elementary, middle and high schools in Korea to host their commencement ceremonies without requiring attendees to wear masks. 
 
Mandatory temperature checkups for students will be abolished, too, though schools may re-implement them if required.
 
Only students with suspicious symptoms will need to register through a mobile self-check app and report their health conditions, unlike before where all students had to report their health conditions through the app.
 
“If there are risk factors during the semester, such as the spread of infection, we will respond swiftly by working with the health authorities,” said education vice minister Jang Sang-yoon during a press briefing on Feb. 10.
 
Some parents welcomed the mask-off school environment.
 
“I am a bit concerned, but I am sure my child will adapt soon,” a 38-year-old parent of a grade one student said, referring to how their daughter feels shy about taking her mask off after wearing it for three years when going to her kindergarten.
 
“From the perspective of a parent, I am glad that masks are no longer required considering language and emotional development.”
 
Students sit for a commencement ceremony at Seoul Girls' Middle School in Mapo District, western Seoul, on Thursday. [YONHWP]

Students sit for a commencement ceremony at Seoul Girls' Middle School in Mapo District, western Seoul, on Thursday. [YONHWP]

 
Others still expressed concern over masks no longer being required at schools.
 
“Even if it weren’t for Covid-19, my child went through less illness after wearing a mask,” a 42-year-old mother said.
 
“I told my child to wear masks this month even if it is uncomfortable, to avoid the flu.”
 
As no strict regulations are in place in schools regarding safety measures to prevent Covid-19, it is really up to schools to decide whether to implement safety measures, including mask-wearing.
 
“Whether to ask not only students but also teachers to wear masks is a dilemma,” the vice principal of Gangbit Elementary School said.
 
“It's basically up to us, but I will be wearing a mask so students don't get infected from me.”
 
School staffers remove partitions installed at a cafeteria of Sanjeong Middle School in in the southwestern city of Gwangju ahead of the new academic year on Feb. 27. [YONHAP]

School staffers remove partitions installed at a cafeteria of Sanjeong Middle School in in the southwestern city of Gwangju ahead of the new academic year on Feb. 27. [YONHAP]

 
While many schools removed their partitions installed at cafeterias to prevent Covid-19 infections, some schools still had them in place.
 
“The partitions can help prevent droplet infections from taking place,” said a teacher at Gangbit Elementary School.
 
“Our school plans to have the partitions installed for a while.”
 
To appease some parents who concern for their children's health in a maskless classroom, the Education Ministry is running a two week-long transition period to take extra precautions such as having schools to disinfect the facility thoroughly.
 
"A complete indoor mask mandate lift is scheduled for around May, but we may be able to bring forward the date at this pace," said Jung Ki-suck, head of an advisory committee to the government on the pandemic.
 
Some of the Covid-19 restrictions still in effect are mandatory masks on public transportation and at facilities with high risks of infection such as hospitals and pharmacies, as well as a 7-day quarantine for positive cases.
 
The number of Covid-19 infections in Korea dropped to 7,516 on Thursday, down around 3,000 from the same day the previous week.

BY LEE GA-RAM, CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]
Log in to Twitter or Facebook account to connect
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
help-image Social comment?
s
lock icon

To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.

Standards Board Policy (0/250자)