Coronavirus: Hong Kong to allow full-day classes at primary schools if 70 per cent of students double-jabbed, similar rules for secondary sessions eased to 90 per cent with 2 doses
- Relaxed measures will take effect starting next month, according to Education Bureau
- Less than 28 per cent of about 502,600 children aged three to 11 have received three jabs, while 74 per cent are double-vaccinated
Education authorities on Tuesday announced the relaxed measures would take effect for secondary schools on November 1 and December 1 for primary ones. Students at both levels will need to have taken their second jab more than two weeks before the respective rules come into force.
While many older students have already returned to their regular learning schedule, the majority of younger ones continue to attend half-day classes. An Education Bureau spokesman said the government hoped the change would allow primary school students to return to normal activities and “meet their learning, social, physical and mental needs”.
But the government had no plans at the moment to allow kindergartens to resume full-day teaching, due to the children’s young age, their limited ability to care for themselves and the relatively low vaccination rate in the age group.
Full-day in-person classes at both levels were suspended in August 2020, but the strict rules drew outcries from parents and lawmakers alike, who feared students’ development would be harmed. Earlier this month, authorities rejected calls to resume the regular schedule at primary schools, saying the vaccination rate among pupils was too low.