SKorea sees record virus jump as thousands take college exam

By KIM TONG-HYUNG
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea reported its biggest daily jump in coronavirus infections since the start of the pandemic as hundreds of thousands of masked students took the highly competitive college entrance exam. About 509,000 students are taking the one-day exam Thursday at 1,395 sites across the nation, including hospitals and shelters. The College Scholastic Ability Test is crucial in the education-obsessed country, where careers, social standings and even marriage prospects greatly depend on which university a person attends. Students were required to have their temperatures taken before entering classrooms and those with fevers were sent to separate testing areas. The Education Ministry says 68 infected students and 105 others in self-quarantine took the hours-long test in isolation.