A student at St. Hilary's Primary School takes some disinfectant hand-gel as she enters the school, in Hong Kong on April 19, 2022. (CALVIN NG / CHINA DAILY)
HONG KONG – The Education Bureau will relax conditions for students to participate in mask-wearing activities in schools on a half-day basis.
The bureau announced the updated arrangements regarding anti-epidemic measures in schools responding to the second stage of the relaxation of social distancing measures by the government on Thursday.
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“We will relax the conditions for students to participate in mask-wearing activities on a half-day basis, such as speech days, parents' days, open days and campus visits” a spokesman for the bureau said in a statement.
…We have observed that the RAT at this stage can help gatekeeping in schools.
Education Bureau, HK
Students attending such still need to meet the relevant anti-epidemic prevention measures of the venue.
In addition, secondary schools, primary schools and kindergartens can arrange for students to participate in non-academic mask-wearing extracurricular activities, such as music or sports activities and school team training, on a half-day basis on Saturdays.
Regarding the daily rapid antigen test requirement for students and school staff, the bureau referred to discussions with the Centre for Health Protection and said the RAT test is considered necessary for schools to maintain the practice until late June.
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“Taking into account the implementation of relevant arrangements in schools since the resumption of face-to-face classes and the number of cases reported by schools to the centre, we have observed that the RAT at this stage can help gatekeeping in schools,” the bureau said.