Nine more schools to resume full-day classes

Education minister Kevin Yeung said on Thursday that nine more secondary schools will resume full-day, face-to-face classes from next week, after the bureau relaxed its vaccination requirement for students.

The bureau says that if 70 percent of a school’s 12- to 17-year-olds have received one dose of the BioNTech vaccine as least 14 days ago, it can resume face-to-face, full-day classes.

But teaching staff will still be required to get two doses of a coronavirus vaccine.

The change came after government expert advisers altered their guidance on vaccinations for teenagers, saying they only need one BioNTech jab instead of two, given concerns about side-effects.

A group of school principals welcomed the Education Bureau’s decision.

The Education Professional Alliance’s Maggie Koong said teenagers who are worried that getting two jabs may lead to more serious side-effects may now choose to get inoculated.

“I think definitely people are more at ease, because [if] they have gone through the first one, they may have hesitations about the second one,” she said.

“I believe especially the upper forms [students] will be more ready to resume classes because after all, children are also looking for not just studying, but also all the after school activities, sport activities that they can participate in.”
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Last updated: 2021-09-16 HKT 20:32