COVID-19 patients to take college entrance exam at separate sites

Korean students infected with the novel coronavirus or in self-quarantine can still take the national university entrance exam at separate sites in early December.

The Ministry of Education unveiled Tuesday the plan for the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), the country’s biggest academic event of the year, which includes measures to safely hold the test for approximately 480,000 students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The plan, devised jointly with health authorities, education offices and universities nationwide, offers detailed guidelines for the state-run exam, as well as the selection and screening process run by universities nationwide.

For the national event slated for Dec. 3, testing sites, 1,185 in total, will be set up in accordance with quarantine protocols, with a maximum capacity of 24 students per testing room, down from the usual 28, to ensure social distancing.

Spaced out desks will be installed with plastic dividers. Face masks will be mandatory, and there will be fever checks.

The ministry said it will closely monitor the spread of the virus to determine the number of testing rooms needed for students who show symptoms of COVID-19 on the testing day.

Students infected with the virus are allowed to take the test in hospitals or other government institutes. Those in self-quarantine should travel by car or ambulance to take the exam in separate testing sites.

More detailed plans on quarantine personnel and ventilation for testing venues will be determined in late September or early October, in consultation with relevant government agencies, the ministry said.

Separately, the ministry urged universities to create a thorough anti-virus plan for student recruiting.