本局檔號

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網址 : http://www.edb.gov.hk 電子郵件 : [email protected] Web site : http://www.edb.gov.hk E-mail : [email protected]

中華人民共和國香港特別行政區政府總部教育局 Education Bureau

Government Secretariat, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region The People's Republic of China

本局檔號 Our Ref : EDB(SDCT)3/PRO/10/1/1 電話 Telephone :

來函檔號 Your Ref. : 傳真 Fax Line :

5 May 2020

To: Supervisors / Principals of All Secondary Schools / Primary Schools / Special Schools (excluding schools offering solely non-local curriculum) and Kindergartens

Dear Supervisor / Principal,

Arrangements of Class Resumption in Phases for All Schools

In light of the outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), all schools (including kindergartens, primary schools, secondary schools, special schools and private schools offering non-formal curriculum) have deferred the resumption of classes since the Chinese New Year holidays. Recently, the epidemic situation has shown signs of easing. Having regard to the advice of health experts and views¹ of schools, the Education Bureau (EDB) considers that schools in Hong Kong can resume classes by phases in a gradual and orderly manner. To minimise the risk of infection and facilitate schools’ cleaning of their premises, all schools should only provide half-day classes. The class resumption arrangements are at Annex 1.

Precautionary Measures

Schools should ensure that adequate preventive measures have been implemented before resumption of classes. For environmental hygiene, schools should thoroughly clean and disinfect the school premises (including boarding section if applicable) and, in particular, pay attention to the sanitary condition of classrooms, special rooms, toilets and tuck shop (if any). Schools should remind staff and students

1 Special schools will resume classes on a half-day or full-day basis in accordance with its needs of students and school-based circumstances (for example, some schools with boarding section).

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to maintain good personal hygiene, including reminding them of the importance of proper hand washing and wearing of masks. School should post health education information of COVID-19 (e.g., hand hygiene, cough etiquette) in conspicuous places, and make use of the online resources provided by the Centre for Health Protection (CHP), to heighten the vigilance of staff and students. These publicity materials can be obtained from the CHP’s website of the Department of Health (DH). (CHP’s website>resources>e-Resources>Communicable Diseases>Coronavirus Disease 2019)

Schools should request parents to check their children’s temperature before going to school. Temperature record sheets should be signed and returned to school.

Schools should also request all staff to check temperature before going to school. If they have a fever or respiratory symptoms, they must not return to school. At the school entrance, schools should check the body temperature of staff, students, parents, and visitors. If students are found having fever or respiratory symptoms, schools should inform their parents or guardians as soon as possible, and remind students to seek medical treatment at once. Schools should also remind parents to prepare masks for their own children. All personnel, including staff, students, parents and visitors, must wear masks when they are in the school premises or taking school bus, school private light bus or other public transport vehicles. Schools should seek the assistance of school bus and school private light bus operators to enforce the mask-wearing requirement on board the vehicles.

Lessons and Timetable Arrangement

To minimise the risk of infection, schools should ensure a proper social distance between students in periods such as their recess time, when they are engaging in activities, and when they are queueing up for toilets or at the tuck shop. In classrooms of primary and secondary schools, schools should arrange students to sit in a single row with a “face-to-back” setting, and teachers should teach students who are facing one direction. Classrooms with desks set side-by-side in double rows will need to have the setting of the desks re-arranged. Schools should also maximize the use of space in classrooms to ensure a proper physical distance among students. In addition, to avoid crowd gathering at school entrance or playground, schools can flexibly arrange their timetables according to their school-based circumstances so as to arrange students to return to/leave schools as well as have their recess time in different batches. For special schools with boarding section, when arranging extra-curricular activities for boarders outside classroom, they should maintain adequate physical distance and be reminded to pay attention to personal hygiene.

Schools should not arrange learning or other activities in the rest of the day

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when half-day classes have already been conducted. This is to avoid overwhelming of students spending a whole day at school to engage in school activities. For individual students who wish to return to school, schools should properly cater for their lunch arrangements within the campus, and should ensure the seating and spacing arrangements in canteens can meet the public health standards.

Care for Students

In the beginning of class resumption, it is advisable for class teachers to obtain their students information about their daily lives and study during the class suspension period and pay attention to the health of students as well as that of their family members.

Class teachers can draw up health rules together with their students and remind students to observe personal hygiene. Students should also be taught how to wear a mask correctly and wash their hands properly, and be reminded that they should not go to school if they are feeling unwell. Besides, as students are mostly home bound during the class suspension and have had few social activities, it will take time to rebuild their daily routine. Some students may display negative emotion and stress during such period. As such, professional staff such as guidance teachers, school social workers and class teachers should pay attention to the emotional and behavioral changes of their students, and provide appropriate emotional support when necessary.

Reporting Confirmed Cases of Infection

If a staff or student has met any of the two conditions listed below, the concerned staff or parent should inform their school immediately to allow the school to make contingency arrangements. Schools should inform the EDB under such circumstances:

(i) Staff or student is being a confirmed case of COVID-19; or

(ii) Staff or student has been classified as a“close contact of an infected person”

with COVID-19² Preparation Works

To assist schools to prepare for class resumption, the EDB is forumulating

“Guidelines on Class Resumption under the COVID-19”. These guidelines will soon be uploaded to the EDB’s website for school reference:

EDB’s website > School Administration and Management >Administration > About

2 In general, close contact means having cared for, having lived with, or having had direct contact with respiratory secretions and body fluids of a confirmed patient.

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School > Prevention of Communicable Diseases in Schools > Guidelines on Prevention of Communicable Diseases> Guidelines on Class Resumption under the COVID-19.

For the sake of safeguarding the health of students, schools should follow the guidelines to implement the preventive measures.

For kindergartens, despite most of the contents in our guidelines are applicable to them, they have notable differences from secondary and primary schools in terms of the mode of teaching and learning and operation. Hence, we will provide a designated section on kindergartens later on.

Schools should inform parents the relevant arrangements prior to class resumption, as well as reminding them the items they need to be addressed. Parents are also required to declare the health status of their children. Schools may make reference to the letter template at Annex 2.

For enquiries about the school resumption arrangements, please contact your respective Senior School Development Officers / Senior Services Officers.

Yours sincerely,

(Dr Verena LAU) for Secretary for Education

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網址 : http://www.edb.gov.hk 電子郵件 : [email protected] Web site : http://www.edb.gov.hk E-mail : [email protected]

Resumption of Classes in Phases for Secondary Schools, Primary Schools, Special Schools and Kindergartens¹ The schedule for different class levels are as follows:

Date of Class Resumption

Secondary School

Primary

School Kindergarten²³ Special School

May 27

(Wednesday) S.3 - S.5 - -

Schools for Social Development, Schools for Children with Visual

Impairment, Schools for Children with Hearing Impairment (The resumption schedule of primary and secondary sections follow the ordinary secondary and primary school)

June 8

(Monday) S.1 – S.2 P.4 – P.6 -

Schools for Children with Mild Intellectual Disability, Schools for Children with Moderate Intellectual Disability, Students with Mild or Moderate Intellectual Disability studying in Schools for Children with Visual

Impairment cum Intellectual Disability (The secondary section will resume classes first, schools will inform parents the resumption date for primary section with a separate notice)

June 15

(Monday) - P.1 – P.3 Upper

Kindergarten³

Schools for Children with Severe Intellectual Disability, Schools for Children with Physical Disability, Students with Severe Intellectual Disability studying in Schools for Children with Visual Impairment cum Intellectual Disability (The secondary section will resume classes first, schools will inform parents the resumption date for primary section with a separate notice)

Hospital Schools (Schools will make reference to the advice from hospitals to adjust the resumption date)

1 If parents have concern on the class resumption, they can consider staying their children at home. School is advised to be flexible in handling students’ leave applications.

2 In consideration of the higher risk of infection associated with kindergartens, we will only resume classes for upper kindergarten in this school year. This arrangement applies to kindergartens, kindergarten-cum-child care centres and schools offering kindergarten levels

3 Normally refer level for children at the age of 5.

3 In consideration of the higher risk of infection associated with kindergartens, we will only resume classes for upper kindergarten in this school year. This arrangement applies to kindergartens, kindergarten-cum-child care centres and schools offering kindergarten levels

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Annex 2 (School Name)

Coronavirus Disease 2019 Arrangement for Class Resumption

(Schools may adapt the content according to the school situation)

<Date>

Dear Parents,

1. The Education Bureau (EDB) announced that school in Hong Kong can resume classes in a gradual and orderly manner. Classes in our school will resume according to the following schedule:

Class Level Date of class resumption Start Time Leave Time

2. During the class suspension period, our school has thoroughly cleaned and disinfected the school premises. We have urged all staff members, including tuck shop workers, school bus drivers, nanny and nanny van drivers to step up precautionary measures to maintain personal hygiene and environmental hygiene of the school. Besides, we will also request all the staff who have contacts with our students, including drivers and workers of school bus and nanny vans, to take their temperature before going to school. If they have fever, they must not return to school.

3. We will maintain the environmental hygiene of our school premises as far as we can to safeguard the health of our students. We hope that, after class resumption, students can return to the school and enjoy their learning in a safe environment.

However, we are mindful of the rapidly changing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools will keep in view the latest development, and parents should pay close attention to any latest announcements of our school as well as the EDB.

4. Cooperation from parents and students are important for us to maintain a clean and safe environment. We call on your support to step up environmental hygiene in the household, and, on top of that, implement the following measures strictly:

4.1 Pay attention to the health condition of your child. He/She should stay away from school and see a doctor immediately if symptom, especially fever, is detected.

4.2 Take your child’s temperature before he/ she goes to school every day. Fill in the record sheet (Proforma A) and sign your name on it. Your child should return the completed sheet to us daily.

4.3 To prevent infection, please ask your child to wear a mask (also applicable when taking school buses, nanny vans or other transportations) and bring tissue paper to school every day.

4.4 To keep teachers’ informed of the health condition of students, please

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complete Proforma B to provide us with the following information:

(a) travel history of your child outside Hong Kong in the past 14 days;

(b) whether your child has confirmed infection of COVID-19;

(c) the health status of those taking care of your child, or those living with your child;

(d) the current health status of your child.

Please return the Proforma on or before the first day of class resumption.

For those who have contracted the virus and have recovered, if they are still within the 14-day quarantine period, they must not go to school.

4.5 After the resumption of classes, you are requested to notify our teacher, Mr/Ms <Name of Teacher> at <Telephone number> immediately in case of any of the following situations, to facilitate our prompt action in taking contingency measures and informing the EDB:

(a) your child has been confirmed infection of COVID-19; or

(b) your child has been classified as “close contact of an infected person”

with COVID-19^*

5. The examination/ quiz/activities originally scheduled during the class suspension period will be postponed to________________(date)/ cancelled.

6. With concerted efforts contributed by different parties, we look forward to overcoming the adversities of the pandemic so that students, teachers and parents can resume normal living and healthy life.

(Principal’s Signature) (Name of Principal)

Principal

*In general, close contact means having cared for, having lived with, or having had direct contact with respiratory secretions and body fluids of a confirmed patient.

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Proforma A

(School Name) Temperature Record Sheet

(Monthly record, can be attached to the student handbook)

1. Parents/Guardians should take their children’s temperature before going to school. For normal body temperature range, please refer to the “Reference Range for Temperature Screening” in the

“Guidance Note on Monitoring of Body Temperature” by the Centre for Health Protection, Please browse

https://www.chp.gov.hk/files/pdf/guidance_note_on_monitoring_of_body_temperature.pdf When the student has fever, he/she should not attend school and should consult a doctor promptly, apply for sick leave, stay at home and take rest.

2. Parents/Guardians should record their children’s temperature and sign on the record sheet daily.

The record sheet should be returned to school staff/class teacher for checking.

3. Parents/Guardians should also complete the record sheet during holiday.

Name of student : Class : Class no. : Month :_____

Date Time for taking temperature Temperature Signature of Parent/Guardian A.M. / P.M. ℉/℃

A.M. / P.M. ℉/℃

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Proforma B 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)

Declaration form for travel history and health status of students

Name of School

Name of Student : Class : Sex : M/F

Please complete the below form and return to schools (Please put a “” in the appropriate box)

Part A – Travel history of your child outside Hong Kong in the past 14 days

 My child has not been away from Hong Kong in the past 14 days prior to class resumption

 My child has paid visit outside Hong Kong in the past 14 days prior to class resumption Duration: From (Month) (Day) (Departure date)

To (Month) (Day) (Arrival date)

Destination (Please specify countries and cities) : ________________________________

Part B – Whether your child has confirmed infection of COVID-19

 My child has not confirmed infection for COVID-19.

 My child has confirmed of COVID-19 infection and has already recovered. Hospitalization Period : From (Month) (Day)

To (Month) (Day)

Part C – Health status of those taking care of your child, or those living with your child

 Person taking care of or living together with my child has not confirmed infection for COVID-19

 Person taking care of or living together with my child has confirmed infection for COVID- 19, the person has recovered / is still receiving treatment in hospital / has been discharged from hospitals and taking medicine. (please delete as appropriate)

Relation with my child (please specify)

 Person taking care of or living together with my child, has not been classified as “close contact of an infected person”^*of COVID-19.

Part D – Current health status of your child

 My child has no symptoms of cough, shortness of breath, breathing difficulty and sore throat.

Name of Parent/Guardian (in Block Letter) : Signature of Parent/Guardian : Date :

* In general, close contact means having cared for, having lived with, or having had direct contact with respiratory secretions and body fluids of a confirmed patient.