This Sept 23, 2020 file photo shows a student offering a hand sanitizer to a fellow schoolmate at Christian and Missionary Alliance Sun Kei Secondary School in Tseung Kwun O, Hong Kong. (CALVIN NG / CHINA DAILY)

HONG KONG - The Hong Kong government on Monday extended by more than a month the suspension of in-person classes for kindergartens and primary and secondary schools in the city.

In a press briefing on Monday afternoon, Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung said the suspension, which was originally scheduled to end Jan 10, will now be extended until the Chinese New Year holidays, which begin on Feb 12. 

Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee also announced that the city’s anti-coronavirus curbs would be extedned until Jan 20

He said primary and secondary schools could arrange half-day classes for students, but the number of pupils returning to campus should not exceed more than one-sixth of a school’s student population.

ALSO READ: Cheung stresses 'zero increase' as HK sees 41 new virus cases

At the same briefing, Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee also announced that the city’s anti-coronavirus curbs would be extended until Jan 20, citing the slow decrease in the number of new cases and the possibility of a rebound after holiday gatherings over the past two weeks.

Chan said the government was unlikely to loosen the curbs before the Chinese New Year.

The social-distancing rules that were extended include a ban on dining at local restaurants after 6 pm, a ban on public gatherings of more than two people and the closure of a string of entertainment venues such as bars, beauty salons and theaters.

ALSO READ: Cheung stresses 'zero increase' as HK sees 41 new virus cases

Also on Monday, Hong Kong recorded 53 new COVID-19 cases, including 43 local infections, said Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Health Protection’s communicable disease branch.

The new cases included six infections of unknown origin, as well as 11 cases linked to the new outbreak at the Tseung Kwan O - Lam Tin Tunnel construction site, said Chuang.

This is the second time that an outbreak happened at the site, with at least 12 workers infected.

The city’s tally of confirmed cases rose to 9,017, with 151 fatalities.

A chronically ill 75-year-old woman, who was hospitalized on Dec 24, passed away on Sunday night and was the city’s 151st death due to the pandemic, according to a statement from the Hospital Authority.

Chuang also said that two patients and two medical staff members at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Kwai Chung tested preliminarily positive. 

They were apparently infected by a patient who visited a ward at the hospital on Dec 28 and who tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday.