Medical experts urge HK govt to consider curfew

If the situation continues to deteriorate, the government may need to tighten measures to maintain social distancing and identify asymptomatic patients, Chuang said.

Meanwhile, the city's Education Bureau announced on Monday that classes in all Hong Kong schools, including international schools and kindergartens, will not start before Aug 17 because of the worsening COVID-19 pandemic situation in the special administrative region. Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung said the government noticed that some schools had planned to start earlier than that.

Yeung said special arrangements will likely be necessary for cross-boundary students of secondary 4 to 6 students once the schools reopen, but are not likely to be made for Secondary 3 or junior classes at the beginning of the new school year.

Lai Tsz-man, principal of Hing Tak School in Tuen Mun, said the school will fully cooperate with the policies, while ensuring students acquire skills and knowledge without going to the school.

He also said that once the epidemic stabilizes, the school will deliver some make-up lessons for these cross-boundary students, hoping that will help them catch up on their studies.

Eric Chung Pui-yeung, a secondary-5 cross-boundary student, said he is worried that the delay will affect his learning progress as he will have only six months to prepare for his college entrance examination if the new school year starts in September. What's more, the commencement date for the new school year may be further delayed, he said.

Although the school provided online courses during the pandemic, Chung said he preferred to attend class in person for more effective learning.