South Korea’s roughly 500,000 high school seniors streamed into more than 1,000 locations across the country to take the all important College Scholastic Ability Test. Special rooms were organized for students in quarantine or infected with COVID-19. Many classes during the year have been conducted online, hindering studies and adding to the stress of the all important university entrance test.

Meanwhile, South Korea Thursday tallied its highest ever number of daily COVID-19 infections, with 3,292 new cases, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Despite South Korea’s 80 percent vaccination rate, the country is struggling to relax restrictions. Many argue for caution.

South Korean officials voiced concern over the high number of serious cases with hospital beds becoming short in supply. In addition, an increase in breakthrough infections and outbreaks at elder care facilities have prompted medical authorities here to move up booster shot schedules.

It was just on November first that South Korea implemented its living with COVID-19 policy, with a plan to lift restrictions by the end of February. As infections here surge, that timeline is in jeopardy, with officials warning increased social distancing limits may again become necessary.