Vaccine Rules Over Full-day Classes Eased

The government on Tuesday relaxed Covid jab requirements for both secondary and primary students relating to full-day classes.

The Education Bureau said it was postponing a three-jab rule that was supposed to take effect in November for secondary students to have full-day lessons.

The bureau said the rule was postponed until February as secondary schools may need more time to boost the vaccination rate.

Under the rule, at least 90 percent of students need to have got three Covid jabs before secondary schools can apply to arrange full-day lessons.

It now means as long as nine out of 10 students in a secondary school or a particular grade have been double-jabbed, they can have full-day classes until the end of January.

Officials also announced that primary schools, where only half-day lessons are held currently, can have full-day classes from December 1 as long as 70 percent of students are double-jabbed.

And primary students who have received at least two doses of Covid vaccine can attend extra-curricular and maskless activities with immediate effect.

The bureau said the new policy aims to allow normal activities to resume in primary schools and cater to the learning and social needs of students.