Hong Kong third wave: school heads prepared for half-day classes, social distancing to stay in place amid Covid-19 surge

Hong Kong school heads have said they are prepared for half-day classes and social-distancing measures to remain in place in September as the Education Bureau announced moving up this year's summer break to next week amid the resurgence of local Covid-19 cases.

Primary and secondary school principals who spoke to the Post are also concerned about whether pupils could make up for lost time and catch up with the scheduled syllabus, with some planning for revision lessons in the first few weeks of the next school year.

Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung said on Friday that schools would advance the summer holiday by seven to 10 days to start it from Monday, as the city has recorded 38 confirmed infection cases, of which 32 are locally infected cases, bringing the tally to 1,403.

At a press conference, Yeung said his bureau decided to suspend face-to-face classes at most kindergartens, primary and secondary schools in the face of a surge of new cases, although he insisted campuses are still “safe” as none of the new cases were infected at schools.

“The decision was made after thorough considerations. We have also heard from principals about some parents’ concerns [over the resurgent of infected cases]. Plus, it is just about one week earlier than schools’ original plans to start their summer break,” he said.