South Korea will reduce the number of students returning to elementary and middle schools in Seoul and the surrounding region to one-third of the total amid the latest COVID-19 cluster linked to a logistics center.

Vice Education Minister Park Baeg-beom said on Friday that classroom density will be minimized by having only two-thirds of high school students and one-third of students in kindergarten through middle school attend classes.

The ministry previously recommended schools in the Seoul metropolitan area, Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province keep attendance below two-thirds. This rule will remain in place for all schools outside the metro area.

School reopenings for the third group of students next Wednesday will proceed as scheduled, with regional education offices and schools given autonomy in deciding the details.

More than 560 schools nationwide delayed reopening for the second group on Wednesday, with the number increasing to nearly 840 on Thursday.