Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
August 6, 2020

COVID-19 cases at elementary and junior and senior high schools and thecountermeasures based on this data

In Japan, the state of emergency declared by the government was lifted nationwide near theend of May, and school activities at almost all elementary and junior and senior high schools
were resumed on June 1. Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology(MEXT) aggregated and analyzed the data from cases of COVID-19 infections reported toMEXT by local education boards and schools during the period from June 1 to July 31. On
August 6, MEXT notified education boards nationwide of the following summary ofcountermeasures to be taken.
1. Status of COVID-19 infections at schools
MEXT has requested local education boards and schools to provide reports when students orteachers tested positive for COVID-19. During the period from June 1, when schools began to
fully re-open, to July 31, 242 students, 51 teachers, and 29 pupils and teachers of kindergartens
were reported to have been infected. The following gives a breakdown of the infection routes
and the spread of COVID-19 in schools.
(1) COVID-19 infections of students
Over half of the infection routes, 57% (137 out of 242 students), were “householdtransmission”, and in particular, for elementary school students, 70% (63 out of 90students) were infected through this route.
On the other hand, a total of 11 students overall (5%) were reported as “in-schooltransmission”, which were 4 cases. These 4 cases were at junior and senior high schools. In
two cases of the four, the infected students engaged in the same club activities, and in the othertwo cases, the infected students were either in the same class or the same club.
“Unknown transmission” made up 24% (57 students) of the total cases.
For high school students, several cases were seen of infections spreading through activities andexchanges outside of school.

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＜Table Situation of COVID-19 Infections among Students ＞
Transmission route determined
Students

infectedwith symptoms

HouseholdIn-school(*2)

transmission

transmission

Elementary schools

903033%

6370%

00%

Junior high schools

533260%

3158%

611%

High schools

97

5759%

4243%

55%Schools for SNE (*1)

2

150%

150%

00%

50% 137

57%

115%

Total

242 120

Transmission

Activities,

Students

exchanges

returned fromoutside family,

9overseas

10%

33%

59%

2

1718%

100%

3113%

routeunknown
1517%

4%

917%

1%

3233%

00%

150%

62%

5724%

(*1)Schools for Special Needs Education (*2)Number of "with severe symptoms": 0Note: Regarding compulsory education schools and secondary education schools, the school stages are divided corresponding to elementary schools andjunior high schools and senior high schools.

(2) COVID-19 infections of teachers“Unknown transmission” accounted for 60% (35 out of 51 persons) of the total cases. Nocases were reported as in-school transmissions.
＜Table Situation of COVID-19 Infections among Teachers ＞
Transmission route determined
Teachers

infectedwith symptoms

HouseholdIn-school(*2)

transmission

transmission

Transmission

Activities,

Students

exchanges

returned fromoutside family,

overseasrouteunknown

Elementary schools

21

1781%

4

19%

00%

210%

00%

1571%

Junior high schools

7686%

114%

00%

229%

00%

457%High schools

151067%

17%

00%

427%

00%

1067%

Schools for SNE (*1)

8788%

113%

00%

113%

00%

675%

Total

514078%

714%

00%

918%

00%

3569%

(*1)Schools for Special Needs Education (*2)Number of "with severe symptoms": 0Note: Regarding compulsory education schools and secondary education schools, the school stages are divided corresponding to elementary schools andjunior high schools and senior high schools.

It should be noted that the identification of these infection routes is based on surveys byindividual local governments, and among the cases of “unknown transmission”, a number ofcases were seen of several infected students and teachers belonging to the same class orengaged in the same club activities.
(3) COVID-19 infections of kindergarten-related persons
In regards to kindergartens, 16 children and 13 teachers were reported infected with COVID19.
＜Table Situation of COVID-19 Infections among pupils and teachers of Kindergartens ＞
Transmission route determined
infectedwith symptoms

HouseholdIn-school(*)

transmission

transmission

Transmission

Activities,

Students

exchangesreturned fromoutside family,

overseasrouteunknown

pupils16638%

425%

638%

213%

00%

425%

teachers

131077%

00%

431%

431%

00%

538%

(*)Number of "with severe symptoms": 02(4) Current situation of PCR testing
PCR testing, which is conducted based on the Infectious Diseases Control Law1 with the aimof making clear the status, trends, and causes of COVID-19 cases and preventing the spread ofinfection, is carried out targeting the following persons: 1) persons already tested positive for
COVID-19 , 2) persons having suspicious symptoms, and 3) persons reasonably suspected tobe infected because of contact with infected persons, etc.
Of these categories, persons in category 3) are not only “close contacts” ; PCR testing is also
conducted when the public health center thinks there is a high risk of infection spreading within
specific regions, groups, organizations. In fact, in some cases that infected persons found inschools, the public health center conducted PCR testing on dozens of people, including thosenot “close contacts”.
2. Morbidity rate by age group
According to aggregated data of COVID-19 in Japan until now, the morbidity rate for
persons ten years or younger or in their teens is lower than that for other age groups, andit is supposed that the incidence rate and disease severity rate for these age groups areboth low. This situation is greatly different from the trend for age levels easily infectedby influenza, where the morbidity rate for those 15 or younger is the highest. However,there are still many unclear points regarding COVID-19, and continued caution is stillnecessary.
3. Countermeasures based on the current COVID-19 situation in Japan
Increases in the number of newly reported cases of COVID-19 are currently seen in the Tokyo
metropolitan area, the Kansai area, and some other areas. Based on the fact that household
transmission is the most prevalent infection route for young students and that the cases ofteachers are mainly "unknown," it has become increasingly important that persons do not bringthe coronavirus into schools.
(1) Countermeasures against household transmission
Depending on the infection situation in the region, not only when students or teachers havecold-like symptoms, but also when their family members are suffering from a fever orother cold-like symptoms, school principals should ask those students and teachers not toattend schools in regions where the “unknown transmission” cases are increasing. For this,the understanding and cooperation of the parents are essential.
Moreover, it is especially important that for teachers a work environment should becreated so that it is easy for them to take days off. Specifically, with the assumption of thepossibility that a teacher will suddenly be unable to go to the school, the constant sharing ofinformation on the contents of duties and the situation and progress of classes among teachers,
and considering ways to divide teaching and other duties in case a teacher cannot attend school
are effective ways for creating such an environment. Moreover, in the case a teacher has had
close contact with an infected person or whose family members show cold-like symptoms,
schools are requested to make an environment enabling teachers to handle duties throughteleworking. MEXT is now compiling examples of such practices.
https://www.mext.go.jp/content/20200527-mxt_kouhou01-000004520_4.pdf
1 Act on the Prevention of Infectious Diseases and Medical Care for Patients with Infectious Diseases3(2) Countermeasures regarding activities outside of school
It is also important to advance efforts to prevent both students and teachers from spreading
COVID-19 outside of schools. Care should be taken to avoid gathering in groups in spacesthat are poorly ventilated and crowded. Industry groups are preparing and announcing
industry-specific guidelines (hereinafter, "industry-specific guidelines") to prevent thespread of COVID-19, and it is important to confirm the status of compliance with suchindustry-specific guidelines.
https://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/coronavirus/mext_00028.html
Since the scope of children's activities widen as they grow older, in regards to personal
activities and exchanges outside of school, particularly for high school students, guidanceshould be given on points students should pay particular attention to, including from theperspective of ascertaining whether the activities they participate in and the facilities andso on used are in compliance with the industry-specific guidelines. In addition, it will also
be useful to provide this kind of information, where necessary, to the parents of students.
4. Countermeasures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 within schools
As far as we can see from the cases seen up to now, even though school-related persons(students, teachers, etc.) have been infected, when schools take proper measures inaccordance with the "New School Lifestyle —COVID-19 Infection Control Manuals andGuidelines for Schools," the risk of widely spreading of infection at schools can bereduced.
As they take countermeasures against COVID-19 depending on the situation of infection in theregion, it will be important for schools to continue lessons, club activities, school events andother educational activities while ensuring a healthy learning environment for children.
Even though the level of vigilance may have to be raised depending on the COVID-19 situationin the region, schools should consider not only temporarily closures but also initiatives forcontinuing children's learning by actively studying the possibilities for dividing attendance forseveral days, online learning, and so on.
(1) Temporary school closures
If a student is found to be infected by COVID-19, a temporary school closure is carried out
by determining the number of days and scope necessary for identifying the students whohad close contact with the infected student(s) and conducting testing. (If no time isnecessary for identifying the students who had close contact with the infected student, orno students were found to have had close contact with the student, a temporary school
closure may not be necessary.) As long as there is no high likelihood that COVID-19 will
spread throughout the entire school, a temporary school closure to deal with the infection isbasically unnecessary, and it is important to ensure as much as possible learning
opportunities for the students.
At present, the most common examples seen are that after an infected student is discovered,
the school temporarily close for 1-3 days, after which the school will re-open.

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Number ofschools

Number of Days of Each School’s Entirely Closure
after Infected Student(s) Discovered (total of 84 schools)
June 1¬–July 21

Number of days

*Saturdays and Sundays not included in number of days
Reference: Examples of School Closures after Discovery of Infected Student (actual examples)
Example 1
One elementary student testing positive (exhibits symptoms, infection route unclear)
Entire school temporarily closed for 3 days from the following day. Around 40 persons
connected to the school underwent PCR testing (all tested negative).
School re-opened from fourth day.
Example 2
One high school student testing positive (no symptoms, in-family infection)
Entire school temporarily closed for 1 day the following day. Three persons connected tothe school underwent PCR testing (all tested negative).
School re-opened from the second day.
Example 3
One elementary student testing positive (no symptoms, in-family infection)
Since the local public health center determined that no persons in the school had close
contact epidemiologically with the infected student, the school was not temporarily closed.
Necessary areas in the school were disinfected, and the school resumed its activities.
(2) Points requiring attention particularly for junior and senior high schools
As mentioned above, a number of cases have been reported at junior and senior high schoolsof from one to several persons being infected by COVID-19. At first, thorough guidance shouldbe given to students about basic countermeasures like washing hands and making sure rooms
are well ventilated, and schools should re-inspect whether they are carrying out the anti–
COVID-19 measures based on the pandemic situation in their region. Moreover, since as
students grow older, they will increasingly act without the direct supervision of teachers
even in school and will act more independently, it will be important to give these students

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guidance so that they themselves will pay attention to the management of their own
hygiene and safe practices.
Moreover, it may take long time to identify all “close contacts” and complete PCR testing allof them since in some cases the infection spread also to their family members. Therefore, it isparticularly important to make preparations for ensuring students' learning
opportunities, including the utilization of ICT for learning.
(3) Disinfecting inside schools
Disinfection of schools is an effective means of killing and reducing COVID-19, but it isdifficult to kill all the virus with disinfectants in school life. Because of that, rather thancounting on the efficacy of temporary disinfection, it is more important to maintain clean
spaces by regular cleaning, boost children's immunity through a healthy daily life, andaccustom them to thoroughly washing their hands.
Referencing the "Points for Daily Cleaning and Disinfecting" shown below, schools should
focus on daily cleaning activities to incorporate the effects of disinfecting.
This means that as part of the daily school cleaning activities, it is permissible for evenstudents, depending on their stage of development, to use household cleaners anddisinfectants that are effective for combating COVID-19. It will also be possible to carry out
these activities with the cooperation of the community, including school support staff andcommunity school support networks.
In addition to the above, separately carrying out disinfecting procedures apart from normal
cleaning activities is basically unnecessary as long as no cases of COVID-19 appear, but if they
do appear, it will be important to conduct the disinfecting activities as much as possible byutilizing outside persons or professional services rather than teachers in order to reduce theburden on teachers.
Based on the fact that it is difficult to kill completely the novel coronavirus by disinfectants,
school establishers and principals must place importance on ensuring that basic
countermeasures against COVID-19 like handwashing, coughing etiquette, and boostingchildren's immune systems are carried out. Use the following "Points for Cleaning andDisinfecting" as reference and take sufficient care to avoid excessive disinfecting.
"Points for Cleaning and Disinfecting"Floors can be treated by normal cleaning; special disinfecting is not necessary.
Special disinfecting is not necessary for desks and chairs, but from the viewpoint ofkeeping a good, hygienic environment, wiping them with a household cleaner as part ofthe cleaning activities is possible.
Places and surfaces that many students and others often touch (door knobs, handrails,
electric switches, etc.) should be cleaned with damp cloths once a day and then wiped withcloths or paper towels soaked in a disinfectant. Cleaning them by wiping them with ahousehold cleaner can be done instead of this, as the same way of cleaning desks and chairs.
Restrooms and washrooms can be cleaned through normal cleaning using householdcleaners, and special disinfecting is not necessary.
For items for common use like equipment, tools, cleaning implements, etc., students should
be told to wash their hands before and after they use them each time without needing touse disinfectants.

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