Primary School Classes Suspended Amid Covid Surge

Health Secretary Sophia Chan has announced that face-to-face classes for primary 1-3 pupils will be suspended for two weeks from Monday as the coronavirus situation in the city deteriorates.

The move comes just over a week after the authorities ordered kindergartens to close for a fortnight due to outbreaks of upper respiratory tract infections.

Chan said it was worrying that the various infection control measures in place failed to prevent those outbreaks, and this doesn't bode well for the new wave of Covid infections.

“As the transmission routes of upper respiratory tract infections and Covid-19 are similar, if Covid-19 spreads at schools, the risk posed to the community is very high,” she said.

Chan said officials will make assessments later on as to whether the class suspensions need to be extended, adding that authorities aren't ruling out suspending all classes at primary and secondary schools if the coronavirus situation worsens.

The health chief said 26 new coronavirus cases were confirmed by the authorities on Friday, with 21 of them locally acquired infections. Preliminary tests on more than 30 others also came back positive.

She said the situation in the territory is "deteriorating rapidly" and appealed to the public to be extra vigilant against the virus and avoid unnecessary gatherings, warning that otherwise there would be an "unstoppable" wave of infections.

Chan said taxi drivers and care home workers will be among those forced to take Covid-19 tests, in addition to patients who show symptoms when they visit their doctors.

She noted that some grassroots workers are worried their incomes might be affected if they have to be isolated in hospital and said the government is considering giving such people a one-off subsidy if they are confirmed to be infected.