Many HK Secondary Pupils Head Back To Class

Hong Kong's secondary schools resumed classes for some students on Wednesday after months of closures due to the coronavirus pandemic, with stepped-up disinfection and public hygiene measures.

Thousands of secondary three to secondary five students were going back to class for the first time since the end of January.

Students at the HKMLC Queen Maud Secondary School in Tseung Kwan O were seen having their temperatures checked by staff at the entrance to the campus before they were allowed to enter.

Staff were noting down the temperatures in a record book and students were required to wash their hands before going into class. All students and staff were also wearing face masks.

The school had cancelled morning assembly and there was a broadcast directly into classrooms instead, to prevent too many students gathering in one place.

Pupils were also required to sit alone at their desks and to clean them with disinfectant wipes.

Only a small number of chairs and tables were placed in the school's snack area with plastic boards to separate seats, and paper bags were provided for students to put their masks in while eating.

The school's principal Chan Hon-ming said things were going smoothly so far and no students had been turned away for having a fever.

Chan said he expects that his school will have to boost its manpower for temperature checks when children from secondary one to two also resume classes on June 8, and he encouraged students to arrive early.

When asked if he was concerned about the possibility of some pupils being invisible carriers of Covid-19, Chan said he was confident that the situation has stabilised, that students are more alert about epidemic prevention, and that they would go home and seek medical treatment if something was wrong.

Some children told RTHK they were excited to be going back to school.

One secondary five pupil said he had left half an hour earlier than normal over worries about traffic jams and that the temperature checks would take too long.

He also said that he had been a bit too relaxed while studying at home and that it was not as rigorous as being in the classroom. But he said was not concerned that the suspension of classes would affect his learning progress.

Another secondary five student said he was nervous about going back to class and seeing how the school suspension had affected his progress. He said that during the class suspension, the wifi network at his home would disconnect from time to time which made it difficult for him to study.

He also said he had considered taking part in Wednesday's proposed strike action against the national anthem bill, but decided not to join in the end because he wanted to respect the wishes of his family.

The school re-openings come after the government decided to ease some social distancing measures that were introduced to stem the spread of the new coronavirus.

On Tuesday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced that karaoke parlours, nightclubs, bathhouses, and party rooms will be allowed to re-open from Friday, and that Hong Kong airport will resume transit services from June 1.

Professor David Hui – who advises the government on Covid-19 – said on Wednesday that being as there have been no new locally acquired Covid-19 infections since May 13, it is okay for such premises to re-open.

The respiratory disease expert from Chinese University told an RTHK programme that if there are no new local infections between now and June 4, the government should also cancel the eight-person limit on public gatherings.