Opinion | Hong Kong needs to reopen schools and save children from the ‘Covid slide’ in education
- While closing schools early on in the pandemic was the right call, evidence now shows schools rarely drive outbreaks and suggest they can be safely opened
- Children, particularly the very young and those from less well-off families, need in-person classes to learn well, and virtual learning is a poor substitute

My phone vibrates. A friend has texted me another petition. “Reopen Hong Kong Schools.” I sigh, and add my signature to the thousands of others. I’ve signed several of these over the past few months. Hong Kong parents are desperate. But no one seems to be listening.
But now we know more. Children, especially young children, seem much less likely than adults to either spread coronavirus or be badly affected by it. A growing body of evidence shows that schools, especially kindergartens and primary schools, rarely drive outbreaks. The preponderance of data suggests that schools can – and should – be safely open, even in countries with high infection rates.
A report in the journal Nature noted that: “Despite fears, Covid-19 infections did not surge when schools and day care centres reopened after pandemic lockdowns eased.” And “even in places where community infections were on the rise, outbreaks in schools were uncommon, particularly when precautions were taken to reduce transmission”.