HK to suspend in-person classes for secondary schools

Hong Kong, Jan 21 (IANS) All in-person classes of secondary schools in Hong Kong will be suspended no later than January 24 until the Chinese New Year holidays after several Covid-19 cases were detected, the city’s Education Bureau (EDB) announced.

The decision was madeas there have been confirmed cases or preliminary confirmed cases identified in schools, resulting in compulsory testing and quarantine of teachers and students, a spokesperson for the EDB said.

Primary schools and kindergartens in Hong Kong have already been required to suspend all in-person classes from January 14 until the holidays, reports Xinhua news agency.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong recorded 14 new cases of Covid-19 over the past 24 hours, taking the total infection tally to 13,096, according to data from the Center for Health Protection (CHP).

Of the 14 cases, four were imported, seven epidemiologically linked with imported cases, one local, and two possibly local-related cases.

Thirteen of the cases involved mutant strains, while the mutation test result of the remaining case is pending, the CHP said.

Meanwhile, the whole genome sequencing analysis of 16 cases announced earlier showed they all carried the Omicron variant bringing the total number of Omicron infections to 495 in Hong Kong.

Since the launch of a mass inoculation program in February 2021, about 5.2 million people, or 77.2 per cent of the eligible population, have taken at least one shot of a Covid-19 vaccine, while about 4.74 million, or 70.3 per cent are fully inoculated.

Meanwhile, 737,067 people in Hong Kong have taken a booster shot.

–IANS

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