ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS CONFIRMED OF VIRUS

[Anchor Lead]

Two more elementary school students in the city of Daejeon have tested positive to COVID-19 overnight. Over a hundred people came into contact with the two students at school and academies, raising concerns of further spread.

[Pkg]

​On Monday, two brothers, one in elementary school and the other in middle school, tested positive for COVID-19 in Daejeon. In just one day, two more elementary fifth graders have been confirmed with the virus in the same city. They are in the same year and at the same school as the previously infected younger student of the two brothers. One student is a classmate and the other came in to contact with the patient at home and learning institutions. The two brothers earlier reported mild fever and coughing but the latest two patients have shown no symptoms. Authorities have been testing 25 classmates of the younger brother who has been attending school until recently. Also over a hundred others came into contact with the two brothers at cram schools and other places, which could raise the number of confirmed cases. Authorities believe student-to-student transmission has unfortunately taken place and are conducting epidemiological surveys. The school in question and 13 nearby schools have suspended in-person classes and switched to online learning. No-assembly orders, which are essentially business suspensions, have also been imposed on a hundred or so academies in the area. But ever since the first student was found to be infected in Daejeon, there has been a petition on the presidential website calling for all school in Daejeon to close.

[Soundbite] (PARENT OF MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT) : "I prefer online classes. The children are nervous too."

Following the first known case of virus transmission among students, the Daejeon Metropolitan Office of Education said it will discuss follow-up measures with the education ministry.