The government has reiterated that it's not the right time to discuss pushing back the start of the offline school semester, following a cluster outbreak of COVID-19 in Seoul.

During a Saturday briefing, Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip was asked whether the latest developments could affect school opening dates.

He said the situation is still developing and given the number of infections, it's very premature to talk about a delay in opening school classes.

The Education Ministry plans to begin offline classes on May 13, starting with high school seniors.

The vice minister said the government will observe the pattern of future transmissions and risk factors and related authorities will discuss the issue if deemed necessary, but for now it's too early to even bring up a possible postponement.

So far, at least 20 confirmed cases have been linked to a COVID-19 patient who visited clubs and bars in Seoul's Itaewon area last Saturday. Some 15-hundred people are known to have visited the same clubs that night, which means the number of cases is likely to rise.