Ensuring a constancy amid uncertainties

All the students are required to maintain social distancing during group activities. They also have been separated into two groups which take turns doing their regular activities.

Staff members check every student's temperature six times daily. They're watched more closely. How much water they drink and even how often they turn over in bed are being monitored.

Staff shortages are a chronic problem at SEN schools, especially at places like Hong Chi Pinehill No 2 School where there are kids with severe intellectual disabilities. The students here need caregivers with refined expertise and a great deal of patience — and now things have gotten tougher.

There are 16 house parents who are responsible for the 30 students. The students most severely afflicted need more than one caregiver. The hours for dining and bathing can become a nightmare. Cleaning staff are sometimes drafted to help.

There's no stable supply of protective gear. The school had to compete with everyone else in the city for sanitizers, disinfectants and medical alcohol. The panic buying of even toilet paper in early February left the school with just two weeks' supply.

Face masks remain the most urgent need. Eighty staff members use 150 face masks a day. The school can maintain only a one-month supply.