S. KOREA REPORTS 266,853 NEW CASES

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Korea added a record-number of 266,853 new COVID-19 cases of midnight of Friday. With more and more school teachers becoming infected, schools are having a hard time finding substitute teachers. They have no other choice but to have their infected teachers teach online.

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This middle school teacher was diagnosed with COVID-19 four days before the new school year. On the first day of the new school year, eight teachers in the same school could not report to work due to COVID-19. They had to conduct classes online from home as the school could not find substitutes.

[Soundbite] (Middle School Teacher) : "When a teacher is confirmed to be infected, finding a substitute the following day is extremely difficult. Most infected teachers teach from home online, like me."

In Seoul alone some 1800 school teachers became infected and are currently quarantined. Many school cafeteria, daycare and administrative workers are also becoming infected. Hundreds of hiring ads looking for part-time teachers were posted on the recruitment website of the Office of Education in just two days.

[Soundbite] (Elementary School Principal) : "We posted a hiring ad on a blog as well, but it's very difficult. There are no available teachers on the waiting list."

The Ministry of Education says it has provided lists of 75000 substitute teachers to schools. Authorities have also raised the maximum age for retired teachers to over 62 so they can be hired as substitutes. However, such efforts are not enough.

[Soundbite] Kim Kap-chul(Boramae Elementary School principal) : "It's difficult to find teachers with that list alone. School principals must find substitutes using their resources or by asking around. Currently there aren't many available."

Teachers' organizations are demanding that education authorities employ substitute teachers directly and dispatch them to schools.