S. Korea girds for exams amid virus
Spike in infections as national testing nears
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean officials are urging people to remain at home if possible and cancel gatherings as about half a million students prepare for a national college exam.
Vice Education Minister Park Baeg-beom said the 490,000 applicants include 35 virus carriers who will take the exams Thursday at hospitals or treatment shelters. Education authorities have also prepared separate venues for some 400 applicants under self-quarantine.
Applicants will be required to wear masks and maintain distance from each other. They will be screened for fever and take exams separately if they have symptoms.
Park Yu-mi, an anti-virus official in Seoul, pleaded with people to cancel all gatherings of more than 10 and for companies to have at least onethird of their employees work from home to ensure a safe environment for Thursday’s examination.
A recent spike in coronavirus infections has made this year’s exams more complicated, and there are concerns that they could accelerate the spread of the virus.
The country on Wednesday reported 511 new infections, continuing a weekslong resurgence centered around the greater Seoul capital area that brought the national caseload to 35,163, including 526 deaths.
In other developments in the Asia-pacific region:
■ Japan’s parliament has approved legislation to aid the distribution and administration of coronavirus vaccines to all citizens. The government aims to secure enough vaccines for all 126 million Japanese by the first half of next year, before the Tokyo Olympics, which have been postponed until
July because of the pandemic. Under the law passed Wednesday, free vaccinations will be available to all residents, and the government will cover the costs of treatment and compensation for damages with any side effects. Priority for vaccinations will be given to the elderly and those with underlying health problems. Nationwide, Japan had 150,386 cases, including 2,172 deaths, as of Wednesday morning.
■ India has maintained a declining trend in coronavirus infections with 36,604 new cases reported in the past 24 hours. The cases declined by 32 percent in November as compared with October, according to the Health Ministry. For more than three weeks, India’s single-day cases have remained below 50,000. Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said new cases were declining consistently after peaking in mid-september at nearly 100,000 per day. India reported 501 additional deaths, raising total fatalities to 138,122.