Coronavirus: Hong Kong teachers’ union to distribute 100,000 masks to schools
- Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers has sourced 150,000 masks to ensure supply of the protective gear does not dry up once classes resume
- Some 50,000 masks will be offered to teachers at a subsidised rate, while the rest will be handed out to school staff and students in need
The 35,000-member Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers (HKFEW) on Thursday said it had sourced 150,000 masks, of which 50,000 would be available for teachers to buy, and the rest would be handed out to school staff and students in need.
But many schools had earlier expressed concern over the problem of mask shortage, with some saying their stock of masks would only last less than a week if each student was given two masks a day when classes resumed.
Wong Kam-leung, a primary school principal and chairman of the HKFEW, said 50,000 masks would be given out to 500 schools in need, each school getting 100 masks, while another 15,000 masks would be handed out among the federation’s member teachers. About 5,000 masks will be distributed among staff and students at special schools.
He said another 50,000 masks – or 1,000 boxes – would be available for teachers to buy for HK$100 (US$13) a box. With the purchase of each box, a teacher will also be given 20 children’s masks and 10 adult’s masks for free distribution.
“School principals were worried about the supply of masks and hoped the Education Bureau would help them with the protective gear when classes resumed. But the bureau has not taken much initiative in this regard,” he said.
Hong Kong is facing a shortage of masks, toilet paper and leadership
The Education Bureau said there had been an improvement in the supply of masks, as the schools purchased them according to their needs with the help of a one-off subsidy.
A bureau spokeswoman said as the schools would resume no earlier than April 20, they have got plenty of time to make suitable preparations.
Wong added the HKFEW last week requested a local production line to produce up to 200,000 children’s masks a day from May.
He said the children’s masks would be sold at lower than market price.
“Even the 150,000 masks [sourced this time] were barely enough to cover the needs of all schools. To ensure a stable supply especially after classes resume, it is important to seek support from production lines,” he said.
The federation’s vice-chairman and principal of a secondary school, Tang Fei, said though masks were available in the market, they were still expensive – costing up to HK$10 a mask.
George Leung Wing-hung, chairman of the Hong Kong Special Schools Council, welcomed the HKFEW’s move, saying it would especially help more than 20 special schools with hostel facilities that were open even amid the epidemic to take care of students with special needs.
He said special schools had received mask donations over the past few weeks which would be sufficient for most students for the month of March, but many schools with large student size would have to look for fresh stock of the protective gear in April.
James Lam Yat-fung, principal of Lions College and former chairman of the Subsidised Secondary Schools Council, said many schools – especially primary schools – would be in need of masks. But his school has about 2,000 masks in stock.
The 100,000-member Professional Teachers’ Union, which represents about 85 per cent of the city’s educators, said they had already sourced more than 150,000 masks for teachers to purchase at a subsidised price.
