Hong Kong education chief insists regular coronavirus testing for teachers is not a condition for resuming in-person classes

Hong Kong’s education chief has stressed that regular testing of school staff for Covid-19 will not be a prerequisite for the full resumption of face-to-face classes, saying students’ return to classrooms would instead depend on the overall pandemic situation and feedback from experts.

Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung at a press conference on Thursday morning defended his department’s call for teachers to be tested for the coronavirus every two weeks, but maintained the arrangement was voluntary, saying schools could choose to have their staff screened if they wanted to resume half-day, in-person classes as soon as possible. He also denied that the Education Bureau was putting any undue pressure on schools and teachers.

The bureau on Wednesday had said that up to a third of Hong Kong’s pupils could be allowed to resume half-day, in-person classes after the Lunar New Year holiday, but for a full resumption of classes to take place, schools should arrange for all staff to be tested every two weeks. Lunar New Year falls on February 12.

But Yeung on Thursday insisted that educators getting regularly tested was not the main condition for restarting face-to-face classes for all students, saying that would instead depend on the development of the health crisis, measures adopted by schools, and feedback from the education sector and health experts.

Yeung added that regular testing was still voluntary at this stage, and that if the coronavirus situation allowed for the full resumption of face-to-face learning, the bureau would “without hesitation do so as soon as possible”.

“In the school set-up, the school management and teachers must have a bigger responsibility than students because they are there to provide … education for the students,” Yeung said.