A primary school student wearing a face mask takes online courses in Sai Wan Ho on Thursday. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
Zhuo Lili was relieved last weekend upon learning Hong Kong schools have suspended classes indefinitely because of COVID-19.
The mother of a 7-year-old had been fretting over the shortage of children’s respiratory masks since learning that schools would reopen on April 20.
“We haven’t had any masks for my son since early February. We can only keep him at home, though sometimes we really want to take him out for fresh air,” said the 43-year-old.
Zhuo’s son has been taking online classes since early February after the virus gained a foothold in the city. There’s been no relief from a shortage of children’s masks, while the short supply of adult masks has eased a little recently after production lines ramped up production.
Zhuo’s concerns are shared by over 90 percent of the 567 parents who took part in a recent survey. The poll was taken by the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, the city’s largest political group.
Those parents, who are just as worried as Zhuo, felt relieved after the Saturday announcement that schools will remain closed, with no date set for resumption of classes.
Calling the suspension “the right thing” to do, Leung Chi-chiu, chairman of the Advisory Committee on Communicable Diseases under the Hong Kong Medical Association, said having face masks for children is a “must” to protect them from the coronavirus, and help to lower the risk of community transmission.
Resuming classes will be possible only when the outbreak is contained and sufficient medical supplies, especially children’s masks, are in stock, he said. He added that it will take another four weeks before it’s possible to start considering when to resume classes.
Lawmaker Leung Che-cheung said the delay is a “scientific” decision amid the increase of coronavirus cases, but cautioned that the lack of supply of children’s masks in the city is “extreme”, given the size of the student population. He’s urging the government to step up efforts to buy and produce children’s masks.
A child wearing protective gear checks out books at a book shop in Tsim Sha Tsui. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
Tight supply of kids masks
According to the Education Bureau, there are over 370,000 primary school students and more than 170,000 children attending kindergartens in Hong Kong.
“With the outbreak now putting the world on edge, most countries have banned the export of masks, so it’s also getting more difficult to purchase children masks abroad. Meanwhile, Hong Kong has over 20 production lines making masks, but most are adult masks. That’s why the city is out at the elbows on children’s masks,” the lawmaker said.
DAB member Li Sai-wing, father of a 4-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son, said the shortage has opened an avenue for greedy profiteers, who charge up to HK$10 (US$1.29) for a single mask.
Once schools reopen, parents will have to supply 50 to 60 pieces per child every month, adding to the burden of parents, Li said.
For Zhuo, the price is prohibitive. Her husband is the only breadwinner in a family of four, which includes Zhuo’s 66-year-old mother, who has high-blood pressure.
Zhuo said her husband, a casual laborer, earned only HK$3,000 over the past two months, and the price of children’s masks is absolutely unaffordable.
Zhuo hopes the prices of children’s masks will come down to the normal level before schools reopen, or schools can help parents by supplying masks.
However, many schools seem to be struggling with the need to supply children’s masks before classes start again. Schools with large student enrollments are especially hard-hit.
The DAB survey found many schools were concerned over a possible insufficient supply of masks when classes resume, with even worse shortages in primary schools and kindergartens. Schools said limited masks could be given only to students with urgent needs, which basically shut the door to parents seeking help from the schools.
Efforts to alleviate shortage
In mid-March, Leung Che-cheung and fellow legislators Wilson Or Chong-shing and Holden Chow Ho-ding raised the alarm about the shortage. They appealed to the government to encourage local manufacturers to start producing children’s masks.
Or said they were told by the educational authorities that four children’s face mask production lines have been set up and it is estimated that up to 15,000 pieces can be produced a day.
On March 20, the government approved two local production lines for masks under a HK$1.5 billion subsidy. Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau Tang-wah said he was also discussing with applicants the production of masks for children.
Last week, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said the government is working with the Correctional Services Department to produce children’s masks.
Social organizations are also helping to alleviate the shortage.
The Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers announced that 50,000 masks, with some of them for children, and other anti-pandemic supplies, including hand sanitizers, will be distributed to 500 schools in need.
The association also asked local mask producers to increase the production up to 200,000 children’s masks a day by May, and sell them below the current market price.
Federation Chairman Wong Kam-leung said manufacturers still need time to find factory locations, purchase raw materials and set up the machinery. Production is expected to begin no sooner than mid-April. Wong suggested the supply of children’s masks could be in place at the earliest in early May.
Wong has also contacted manufacturers on the Chinese mainland, saying, “Hong Kong has little experience in manufacturing with limited factories, while the mainland has the capability of mass production. I hope we can make progress with mainland manufacturers so that parents and schools have sufficient supplies for kids when schools reopen.”
