Over 6 in 10 Hong Kong secondary pupils fear meeting peers without mask, survey finds, as schools urge authorities to maintain full-day in-person classes amid Covid surge
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Six out of 10 Hong Kong secondary school pupils fear meeting their peers without a mask, a survey has found, while head teachers have urged authorities to maintain full-day in-person classes for the sake of student development despite a recent surge in Covid-19 cases.
Hong Kong Lutheran Social Services released the poll results on Sunday, offering a glimpse of how social-distancing rules that came into force more than two years ago have influenced young people.
The survey, conducted in June and involving 1,051 local secondary school pupils, found that 63 per cent of the students were worried about having to remove their masks to meet people in the future, while 62 per cent said anti-pandemic measures had dampened their desire to socialise.
Around 48 per cent admitted they were now more afraid to attend face-to-face events compared with pre-pandemic times, while about 40 per cent felt guilty during gatherings as they had to abide by social-distancing measures.
“The results have demonstrated that teenagers now tend to conceal their expressions and feelings behind masks,” said Chu Ka-yin, a senior manager at the social services body.
“They lack opportunities to communicate through expressions, and might be socially withdrawn in the future as they fear interacting with others without a mask.”
The organisation said pupils should pay more attention to social needs and try their best to stay motivated to interact with others and build good relations with their peers. It also urged schools to arrange more group activities with fewer participants so students could gradually get used to social interaction.
