Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung today said a high COVID-19 jab rate raises the possibility of resuming whole-day face-to-face lessons at various school levels.

The Education Bureau announced earlier that individual schools may apply for restarting full-day face-to-face classes provided 70% or more of their teachers, staff and students have received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine for more than 14 days.

However, since only citizens over the age of 12 can get COVID-19 vaccination at the moment, such policy does not apply to kindergartens and primary schools.

At a media session following a visit to a school today, Mr Yeung told reporters that the Government will consider the global and local pandemic situation as well as the city’s vaccination rate when deciding whether or not to relax social distancing measures in terms of face-to-face lessons in primary schools and kindergartens.

When Hong Kong people achieve a higher percentage of vaccination, the overall infection risk will be lower, he explained.

For secondary schools, as most students are eligible for getting a jab, the schools will be allowed full-day face-to-face classes if the relevant vaccination rates exceed 70%, the education chief added.