Hong Kong schools are out for an early summer as authorities announced that classes will be suspended from Monday onwards in light of the worsening COVID-19 outbreak.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Education Secretary Kevin Yeung said that the precautionary measures that schools have been taking since reopening in late May have been effective, and so far there have not been any confirmed cases at schools.
“But we observe that there is another surge of local cases,” Yeung said. “We think that for the general good of the community and the health of the students, we think we can advance the commencement of the vacation.”
Most schools are scheduled to break for the summer holidays by the middle or end of this month.
He added that schools that have scheduled important exams, such as assessment for Primary Five students that will determine their secondary school placement, will be allowed to go ahead with the tests. But they will have to abide by precautionary measures.
“[With] wearing [of] masks, washing hands and keeping a good distance between the students… we are still confident that the schools will be able to handle the examinations safely,” Yeung said.
Hong Kong students have already been out of school for about four months this academic year. Classes were suspended after the Chinese New Year holiday in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, and only resumed in late May with high school seniors returning first.
Since April, only sporadic local infections have been recorded with most days reporting either no new cases or only imported ones.
But another wave of the virus is appearing to sweep the city. Since Monday, more than 60 people have tested positive for the virus. 34 local cases were recorded yesterday.
Authorities have announced the re-tightening of social distancing regulations in light of the new cases. Starting Saturday, restaurants are not to accommodate more than eight per table and can only operate at 60% capacity, while the maximum number of people per table at bars and nightclubs will be halved from eight to four.
