After a comfortable period with relatively few corona-virus cases in Korea, the third wave of infections has firmly hit the country. We've had several days in a row of approximately 600 new cases each day, a 9-month high. As I write today, there are 580 new cases in the country.
There was a gradual increase from our typical 100 cases per day until we had about 300 new cases per day for a full week. Then the numbers jumped to 600. Busan is still relatively low with only 29 new cases per day.
With this latest rise and realization of a third wave, the school board recommended a shift to (partial) online classes.
My boys' school had been fully in-person and my main school had only 1/3 of students studying online each week. Now both schools have 2/3 of students at home on any given week, while only a single grade comes to school for in-person lessons. We haven't operated this way since earlier in the summer. While it seems like a big change, December is the only full month of classes remaining. January and February are mostly holidays with a few classes mixed in.
As far as work goes, I'm happy that we've switched back to primarily online classes. Recording a single lesson that can be used repeatedly for my many class sections is so much easier than teaching the same lesson in-person, multiple times. Plus, I can really use a break from my boisterous boys classes. Some of the other teachers have expressed similar relief, although it is now clear that we are ending the year as it started - away from our students.
Coincidentally, the national standardized test for high school seniors took place this week. It's the test high schoolers write to determine which university they will attend, and it is of utmost importance in Korea. In normal times, the country implements certain measures to ensure that students can successfully travel to and write the test. For instance, during a certain hour, airplanes are not allowed to take off or land, to prevent the sound from interfering with the test. This year, because of the rising number of COVID-19 cases, extra measures were employed. Schools around the country, including my middle school, were closed for 3 days - partially because of the corona-virus and partially to ease the travel for test-takers. I worked from home on Thursday and Friday; the first time since my very first week in Busan back in late February.
Korea gets a lot of credit internationally for how well it has handled the corona-virus. Certainly, the numbers are much lower than in many other countries. However, it is disappointing to learn that while the government has established a system of staged restrictions depending on a set of criteria, it has repeatedly ignored its own system in order to keep businesses open and the economy going. I think it's clear that that effort has backfired. Declining the opportunity to restrict social interaction a week or two ago has contributed to the current outbreak.
After this wave hit, several cafes and restaurants were closed in Busan during this three-day period. We'll see if they re-open after the exam or remain close to help ward off the new wave of COVID-19 infections. Stricter restrictions are now being enforced in Seoul where many businesses must close by 9pm and public transit is also being scaled back.
I expect the next few months to be filled with surprises. Will we continue with online classes until graduation, or can I expect to see my students again before the end of the year? As the schedule is currently formed, I won't be face-to-face with my grade 3 students until the last few days of the school year. In fact, I wouldn't even teach some sections, which is disappointing because I would like to see them before they leave middle school and move on to their respective high schools. However it works out, I can't help but marvel at the fact that we have spent the entire year in masks and I won't recognize some of my students should I run into them someday in the future when this pandemic is safely behind us.
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