Local schools have resumed classes yesterday, welcoming some 50,000 students in the new academic year.
“Over 50 schools with a combined 50,000 students welcomed a new semester in Macau; most students completed a compulsory nucleic acid test (NAT) before attending school,” the Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) subdirector Wong Ka Ki said.
Before the start of the semester, authorities had met with schools and departments to discuss pandemic prevention measures to control the flow of students.
Wong expressed that around 16 schools reflected that some cross-border students could not return to school for several reasons. The authority asked schools to provide the specific number of relevant students; Wong believes that schools can make special arrangements to accommodate them.
According to official data, yesterday morning there were over 2,000 cross-border students returning to school via the Qingmao and Border Gate checkpoints.
Meanwhile, schools were well-prepared for the start of semester and set up special places for students to remove masks to drink water. They also set up separators on each table to avoid excessive contact in class.
“[The] school would like to strengthen student’s foundation in their studies and carry out […] counselling work in the first month of the new semester,” said Lai Sai Kei, president of Keang Peng School.
Students who did not competed a NAT will not be allowed to enter the school, and students need to quarantine after attending school, Lai said.
“Some students did not complete the NAT result in time because they could not return to their usual place of residence, and some classes started in the afternoon,” said president of Pui Ching Middle School Kou Kam Fai. He therefore did not anticipate any problems with the NAT arrangements in schools, as cited in a report issued by Macao Daily News.
On whether it is ideal to suspend classes under the normalization of the pandemic, Kou said that it will be necessary to completely suspend classes if there are many positive cases with an unknown source. If there are only a few positive cases with a clear source, it can take more relaxed measures such as requiring students to complete a rapid antigen test (RAT) before attending school. “However, the authorities must prioritize the safety of students,” Kou emphasized.
Moreover, Kou said that all teachers must receive the second dose of vaccinations. Those who have not must do NAT once a week.
As of last semester, approximately 85% of students aged between three and 11 were vaccinated, and 90% aged between 12 and 18. Authorities expressed that schools hope to provide vaccinations to students.
All students and parents returning to school are required to present a negative NAT result taken within the last 72 hours, according to the pandemic prevent requirement for school published by the DSEDJ on August 26.
Authorities have also coordinated with the traffic department and Public Security Police Force (PSP) to divert traffic on the day.
Bus company TCM said it has increased bus frequency on bus routes to reduce the number of people on the new semester day; it will adjust the bus frequency according to the situation.
“[The] flow of people was not heavy on the day,” said general manager of TCM Leong Mei Leng.
Only five schools started their new semester yesterday; 11 schools chose to start the new semester today. Leong believes that the number of people will remain at the same level. Moreover, during the past two years, visitors in Macau gradually reduced in number. She believes the bus frequency could be sufficient.
Besides, Leong added that some mobile buses would be reserved for emergencies.
Another bus company, Transmac, intends to increase bus frequency by 12% during the period of students returning to school.
It added that they carried out maintenance on buses last week, so they would arrange over 40 additional buses. Also, they dispatched over 30 bus officers to stay at several bus stations for support. Staff Reporter
