First Hong Kong primary school students return to full-day, in-person classes after nearly 3 years of Covid disruptions
- Government had announced schools could resume whole-day classes in December if at least 70 per cent of students were double-vaccinated
- More are expected to resume regular schedules from early next year, with only a handful of the city’s pupils returning on Thursday
A small cohort of Hong Kong primary school students enjoyed lunch breaks with their friends for the first time in nearly three years, as they inaugurated the return to in-person, whole-day classes on Thursday.
Only 67 of the city’s roughly 500 primary schools have made the switch so far, although the education sector said it expected most to resume full-day classes after the New Year or Lunar New Year holidays, as different activities had already been arranged, while some parents even said they preferred the half-day schedule.
Inside a classroom at the Tsuen Wan Trade Association School in Tsing Yi, around 20 Primary One students sat separately at their desks quietly, eating from their lunchboxes on Thursday.
Students across all grades who spoke to the Post during their break said they were excited to be back in school full time, as this meant more opportunities to interact with their classmates and learn in person.
Eleven-year-old Brighton Chan said he could barely remember the last time he had lunch in school, which was before the pandemic broke out in 2020.
