Hong Kong educators complain about lack of clarity over class suspensions sparked by respiratory infection outbreaks
- Centre for Health Protection has advised schools with respiratory infection outbreaks to suspend face-to-face classes and activities for at least a week
- But educators point to the lack of communication between CHP and the Education Bureau, and say there has been no official communication
Hong Kong educators have said they were kept in the dark over the suspension of classes in primary and secondary schools after a recent spate of upper respiratory tract infections.
In new guidelines that took effect on Wednesday, the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) advised schools with outbreaks of upper respiratory tract infections to suspend face-to-face classes and activities for at least a week until the Covid-19 test results of the affected children were available.
An outbreak would be declared in a school when more than three children in a class complained of having two or more symptoms – fever, cough, runny nose or sore throat – within four consecutive days.
Health authorities last Saturday also shut down all kindergartens for two weeks after frequent outbreaks of respiratory infections were reported in kindergartens and childcare centres. The measures were taken as a preventive measure to contain the Covid-19 pandemic as both infectious diseases share similar symptoms.
The CHP should also inform the Education Bureau when a school needs to be closed
While primary schools reported fewer outbreaks last week, 150 of 164 clusters were identified between Sunday and Thursday. Four were in kindergartens and childcare centres and one in a secondary school. A total of 1,046 people have been infected so far.
Cheung Yung-pong, honorary chairman of the Aided Primary School Heads Association, told a local radio channel that the CHP’s instructions were unclear, leading to confusion among educators and parents.
Pointing to a lack of communication between the CHP and the Education Bureau, Cheung said he only learned of the new rules through media reports and that there was no official notification by authorities.
“The CHP should also inform the Education Bureau when a school needs to be closed,” he said. “When only specific schools need to shut but are notified late in the evening, how do we alert the parents so they can make arrangements for their children the next day?”
Tai Tak-ching, head of the Wan Chai District Headmasters’ Conference, said the new rules were clearer after clarification from the CHP, but questioned whether the guidelines should apply to all schools.
He suggested health authorities handle the suspension of in-person classes at kindergartens, primary and secondary schools separately.
“If kindergartens have to close, I think it’s understandable because younger children may have difficulty complying with hygiene measures,” he said. “But in secondary schools, the situation is not as bad.
“In the past, students would still go to school even when more than three pupils in the same class were sick during the flu season. Not everyone was wearing a mask back then.”
Tai added that face-to-face learning for secondary school pupils was cut short due to earlier school closures to contain the pandemic, and pointed out that senior students preparing for Hong Kong’s university entrance exams were particularly affected.
Most pupils missed lessons on campus for more than half a year after classes were first suspended in early February to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
