COVID-19: Schools in South Korea shut again, Spain introduces new restrictions

Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, South Korea has recently reported a triple-digit rise in coronavirus cases forcing it to shut schools and switch back to remote learning. In addition, Spain has also begun to implement new restrictions in some regions in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus as the country fears a sharp surge in new cases as the school year begins.

Returning to online classes

As per reports, Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae on August 25 revealed that in the past two weeks alone 193 students and teachers had tested positive for the deadly coronavirus in the Metropolitan area of Seoul. A new virus surge in Korea’s capital at this time would erase all the hard-earned progress made by the country in eradicating the coronavirus.

Yoo added that students that are enrolled in kindergarten, elementary, middle school and high school will transition back to online classes while high school seniors will be the only batch to still go to school in order to ensure that that their preparations for their upcoming college entrance exams are not disrupted. In addition to closing schools, South Korea has also banned large gatherings as well as closed down nightspots and churches in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Read: South Korean Leader Urges Country To Focus On Quarantine

Read: 10th Day Of Triple-digit New Virus Cases In South Korea

Introducing new measures

While South Korea has decided to close down schools, Spain is gearing up for the beginning of the school year in September. The country fears a surge in coronavirus cases and as a precautionary measure has imposed several new measures such as bans on social gatherings.

As per reports, Spain’s Health Ministry in the last three days has reported 19,000 new virus cases. Spain has now reported a total of over 400,000 positive virus cases and has the highest number of cases in Europe. The Catalonia region in Spain has a ban on gatherings of more than 10 people while Murcia which is located in Spain’s southern coast has restricted gatherings to six people.

(Input/Image Credit: AP)

Read: Spain Adds Thousands Of New Coronavirus Cases

Read: COVID-19: Worrisome Rise In Daily Number Of New Cases In Spain