Health

Students resume face-to-face school classes in Hong Kong

Hong Kong, Sep 23 (efe-epa).- More than 300,000 primary and secondary school students returned to face-to-face Classes in Hong Kong on Wednesday with strict antivirus measures put in place following a sustained decrease in coronavirus infections in the city.

“Children need to return to their routines and socialize. It’s been many months of online classes that have meant a great sacrifice for both parents and kids,” Ada Wang, mother of two teens, told EFE.

“The political situation in the city and the pandemic are generating a lot of anxiety in families. Let’s hope that everything stabilizes and they do not have to go back to studying from home for the sake of all,” she said.

The return to the classroom for the first time since the academic year began in mid-August will take place gradually and in two phases.

Students of grades 1, 5, and 6 resumed for secondary schools, primary schools, and upper kindergartens on Wednesday while students of other Grades will do so on Sep. 29.

Some schools may only open for half-day to prevent students from gathering at lunchtime. There will be no other activities after classes. Authorities have intensified cleaning and disinfection practices in schools with extended distances between students.

In rooms that have fixed seats, transparent plastic partitions have been installed between desks to reinforce coronavirus prevention measures.

Other measures in place are mandatory temperature checks and use of masks as well as the placement of hand sanitizer dispensers and ultraviolet devices to disinfect books.

Hong Kong schools suspended face-to-face classes in early February but resumed briefly in the summer before stopping again in July when the third wave of Covid-19 infections began.

Although the number of cases has declined significantly, some prevention measures remain in place, including limits on public gatherings to four people.

However, bars, pools, and theme parks were granted permission on Friday to reopen.

The third wave has so far left 5,039 confirmed cases in Hong Kong while the number of deaths now stands at 103. EFE-EPA

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