Coronavirus Disease 2019 Cases at Universities and Colleges in Seoul Metropolitan Area

BACKGROUND: To facilitate evidence-based policy-making on safe reopening of higher education facilities, there is an urgent need to assess baseline profile of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) incidents within the university/college settings. We aimed to describe the epidemiology of COVID-19 in universities/colleges in Seoul Metropolitan Area during COVID-19 pandemic period. METHODS: Among the 38 universities in Seoul, 23 have agreed to participate in the study. Confirmed COVID-19 cases were identified from individual-level case reports submitted to the universities and to the health authorities from February 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021. Through the linkage with the Central Disease Control Headquarters' database, number of secondary infected cases (both within and outside of the campus) were counted. RESULTS: Between February 2020 and June 2021, a total of 827 COVID-19 cases were confirmed and reported in the universities across Seoul Metropolitan City. Generally, the community-associated cases had peaks preceding the university/college-associated. Of those with the documented clinical parameters, 38.6% of the cases were asymptomatic. Among them, 93% were potentially exposed off-campus, and 87.7% of the cases had not produced the secondary infection cases. CONCLUSION: In the setting of rigorous infection prevention measures in combination with on- and off- hybrid classes, COVID-19 incidences and outbreaks were limited in university and college campus area across Seoul Metropolitan Area. The evidence around the infection preventive measures in higher education facilities in Seoul Metropolitan Area, suggest insignificant impact on community transmission.