More children to head back to the classroom

Sources have told RTHK that the government will allow more students to resume face-to-face classes after the Easter holiday, as Hong Kong’s coronavirus situation eases further.

Currently, only one third of pupils are allowed to attend in-person classes at schools. It is understood that the Education Bureau will relax this restriction to allow classes with up to two-thirds of students attending.

Sources say the bureau is still fine tuning the detailed arrangements and will make an announcement on Friday at the earliest.

The Professional Teachers’ Union, meanwhile, said the government should make public its plan as soon as possible to allow time for schools, parents, and students to prepare for the resumption of classes.

The union’s president, Fung Wai-wah, also said further relaxation is on the cards.

“We can have confidence resuming face-to-face teaching, the pandemic is now more or less under control,” he said.

“Maybe we can allow two-thirds of the students to return to school first, and then if the pandemic is further under control, then maybe we can resume total face-to-face teaching.”

The number of new coronavirus infections in the city has remained at low levels in recent days, with health authorities reporting just nine new Covid-19 infections on Thursday.

Five of Thursday’s cases were imported, while the four locally acquired infections were all linked to previous cases.
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Last updated: 2021-03-25 HKT 21:29