London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Sep 09, 2025

5 Hong Kong schools to resume full-day classes after hitting jabs target

5 Hong Kong schools to resume full-day classes after hitting jabs target

Form Six students especially eager to return to normal schedule as they will take university entrance exams next year, one principal says.

Five Hong Kong secondary schools are expected to resume full-day in-person classes for certain grades as early as Monday after they reached the required 70 per cent vaccination rate against Covid-19, the education chief has revealed.

Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung also said on Friday that more than 92 per cent of teaching staff across all schools had received at least one vaccine dose by last Friday, while those who had not been inoculated must undergo regular testing.

The city recorded five new cases on Friday, all imported and carrying the L452R mutation linked to several coronavirus variants. The tally of confirmed infections stood at 12,138 with 212 related deaths. Fewer than five people tested preliminary-positive.

Form Six students attend classes at Heung To Secondary School (Tseung Kwan O).


The government also agreed to recognise vaccination records from four more nations starting from September 15. Three of them – Bangladesh, Nepal and the United Arab Emirates – are classed as high-risk for Covid-19, while the other, Singapore, is considered medium-risk.

In another development, officials said the daily charge for one of 800 units at Penny’s Bay Quarantine Centre for use by incoming foreign domestic helpers would be HK$480, including three meals and all fees. That means 21 days of mandatory quarantine will cost HK$10,080.

The facility will take 50 workers per day at most and units will be available from September 20. Applications for units can be made through a booking system under the Labour Department starting from September 14.

Schools suspended face-to-face classes or held half-day sessions after the pandemic emerged in January last year. The government last month announced they could resume full-day classes for a grade if 70 per cent of students in that level were fully vaccinated. The move only covers older students as Hong Kong does not allow those younger than 12 to receive shots.

Delia Memorial School (Hip Wo) in Kwun Tong managed to inoculate 74 per cent of its roughly 240 pupils in Form Six after arranging an outreach session in July with the help of the government, according to Principal Lam Yim-ling.

“I believe many Form Six students are anxious to return to full-day classes, as they will be taking the university entrance exam next year,” Lam said. “When there were only half-day classes, the overall teaching hours were fewer. It is important for pupils to work on practice papers ahead of the public exam and we need the time and space to do so.”

Heung To Secondary School (Tseung Kwan O) is expected to resume full-day sessions from September 23 after hitting the threshold for its Form Six students. Across all grade levels, about 60 per cent of pupils have been vaccinated.

Principal Tang Fei said the school had made use of the government’s group-booking services at community vaccination centres in July. More than 300 pupils had been inoculated and the school would look into encouraging more Form Five pupils to take the jabs.

Full-day sessions for kindergartens and primary school pupils remain off the table for now, with no indication of when they might resume.

A number of international schools, including primary and secondary ones run by the English Schools Foundation, were given approval to hold full-day classes earlier this year without reaching the vaccination threshold. Education authorities said their campus facilities such as canteens were more suitable for social distancing.

Delia Memorial School (Hip Wo) in Kwun Tong managed to inoculate 74 per cent of its roughly 240 pupils in Form Six.


University of Hong Kong microbiologist Dr Ho Pak-leung predicted more secondary schools might reach the 70 per cent mark this month as 62.5 per cent of teenagers aged 12 to 19 years old had already received their first dose as of Thursday.

“Students should pay more attention to their physical condition, including measuring their body temperature. If it is feasible, schools should also improve the air quality by installing air purifiers inside the classrooms,” he told a radio programme on Friday.

According to the Centre for Health Protection, Friday’s new cases involved arrivals from Switzerland, an aircrew member from Russia and a domestic helper from the Philippines.

Separately, a 16-year-old boy and a 51-year-old man who travelled from Hong Kong to Britain tested positive for Covid-19 over the past week. Block 19 of Baguio Villa at Pok Fu Lam where the teenager lives and Block 3 of Kent Court on Boundary Street where the older man lives have been issued with mandatory testing notices.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Brand-New $1 Million Yacht Sinks Just Fifteen Minutes After Maiden Launch in Turkey
Here’s What the FBI Seized in John Bolton Raid — and the Legal Risks He Faces
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
×