China coronavirus: Hong Kong schools take extra precautions against outbreak including masks, temperature checks and sanitising hands

At Fung Kai No 1 Primary School in Sheung Shui, students are required to bring two masks, have their temperature checked and hands sanitised

Schools will take a more careful approach in terms of preventive measures ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, association chief says

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Schools have been carrying out temperature checks on pupils and also visitors. Photo: SCMP

Published: 7:00am, 22 Jan 2020Updated: 4:49pm, 22 Jan 2020

Hong Kong schools have taken extra precautions against the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak, with some stepping up cleaning efforts and others planning to question pupils on their Lunar New Year travel and check visitors’ temperature.

At Fung Kai No 1 Primary School in Sheung Shui, near the border with mainland China, where about half of the 1,100 pupils live, students are required to bring two masks, have their temperature checked and hands sanitised when entering the campus.

Principal Chu Wai-lam said the school would also issue a notice to remind students and parents to take appropriate health measures during their holiday travel, for instance, not to visit wet markets.

Students would also be asked where they had travelled during the holiday on their return to school on February 3, so follow-up action could be taken in the event they came down with the virus, which causes pneumonia.

By Tuesday, more than 300 confirmed cases had been officially reported on the mainland including 270 cases in Hubei province, where the virus epicentre, Wuhan, is located. Thailand, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan have also recorded a total of five cases.