Thousands of Hong Kong students yesterday were among the first in the world to take the final examinations of secondary school, all wearing masks and having their temperatures checked after being stuck at home for months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education examination was given the green light with a four-week delay, as the number of new coronavirus cases has fallen, although social distancing measures remain in place throughout the territory.
“Although it’s relatively dangerous to start the examination for us candidates at this moment, the [exams] might have been canceled altogether unless they were held now,” 19-year-old Emily Chui said before going into the exam hall at Clementi Secondary School on Hong Kong Island.
Photo: AP
Hong Kong’s schools have been shut since late January.
Students were asked to arrive early for temperature checks, while masks were mandatory, hand sanitizer was available and desks were about 2m apart.
Students were also required to present a health declaration form.
Some candidates were still unsure about whether the exams should have been held while the territory was still reporting new cases.
“It’s like we are risking our lives for a seat in university and we don’t even know if we are going to succeed,” Rita Hung, 18, said before walking in.
Yesterday, more than 3,000 students took the exams in the first sitting. In all, about 52,000 candidates are to do so over the next month.
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