South Korea's Ministry of Education said Friday that all kindergartens and elementary, middle and high schools will return fully to in-person classes on Monday for the first time since the COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020.

Yonhap news agency quoted the ministry as saying that it will provide personnel and financial antivirus support for schools in the greater Seoul area, where the pandemic is more severe than in other regions.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) Friday reported 3,034 new COVID-19 cases, including 3,011 local infections, raising the total caseload to 409,099.