Secondary Schools To Suspend Face-to-face Classes

The Education Bureau on Thursday ordered secondary schools to suspend face-to-face classes by Monday, after a number of students were recently infected with Covid-19.

All in-school activities will also be suspended, but form six students preparing for exams will be allowed to return to campus for not more than half a day for what the Education Bureau describes as "necessary learning and assessment", provided that strict anti-Covid measures are in place.

The arrangement will last until the end of the Lunar New Year holiday.

All tuition schools will also have to suspend operations until February 7.

A spokesman for the bureau said in a statement that the coronavirus situation in the city is becoming serious.

He said the decision to suspend face-to-face classes was made in view of silent virus transmissions in the community and the emergence of untraceable infections.

"Schools are seeing confirmed and preliminary positive cases, resulting in compulsory quarantine and testing of teachers and students," he said.

The spokesman urged school staff, parents and students who have not been vaccinated against Covid-19 to get jabs as soon as possible.