Media reports on anti-epidemic measures for HKDSE (Sing Tao Daily)

1/1 Lau Wing Sang Secondary School sealed up some of the tables and chairs on the covered playground, restricting candidates to sit only on the diagonal to avoid crowds from gathering.

 

【Education News】Diploma Examination Epidemic Preparedness Final Rush Schools Purchase Full Body Protective Clothing

 

 

(Sing Tao Daily) As the outbreak of Newcastle Pneumonia worsens, the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) examination has been postponed to next Friday. Schools which have lent their premises for the examination have made the final push for the epidemic prevention arrangements. Apart from increasing the seating capacity, setting up special rooms and setting up examination personnel in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA), each school has also made special arrangements for the prevention of epidemics, and some schools have even made the "worst case scenario and the best preparations" by ordering full-body protective clothing in preparation for the contingency. Schools have also prepared diversion measures to limit the gathering of candidates.　Reporter: Yuen Ka Wing

 

　　The Salesians Of Don Bosco Ng Siu Mui Secondary School in Kwai Chung lent its premises as a testing ground for Chinese, English and Liberal Studies. The headmaster, Mr Lee Kin Man, described the school's deployment as being based on the principle of "worst case scenario, best preparation", with a special "safety officer" in charge of co-ordination. The school has ordered 10 to 20 sets of full-body protective suits, eye masks or face masks, etc., which will be worn by staff in the event that there is a need to take care of a candidate who has clinical symptoms or to deal with vomitus. In accordance with HKEAA's guidelines, the school arranged the seating arrangements at a distance of 1.8 metres from the examination venue. The auditorium, which originally had a capacity of 120 candidates, would only be used by 48 candidates at that time, while the rest of the candidates would be evenly distributed among seven classrooms, each with 12 students, adopting the same specifications as those for the auditorium.

 

　　In response to concerns about the gathering of candidates before the examination and during the break, Lee said that the school will open early on the day of the examination, candidates in the covered playground after the completion of the temperature test, can wait in the open air and covered playgrounds, but also in the break between the examination diversion, the auditorium should be arranged for the candidates to the playground, while the rest of the use of higher floors of the classroom and corridors. He admits that candidates may meet students from the same school in the examination centres, but he believes that they are wary of the epidemic and will minimise contact. "If candidates are found chatting with each other, we will use the public address system to call on them to separate".

 

　　The CNEC Lau Wing Sang Secondary School in Chai Wan will be the examination centre for the English, Mathematics and Economics subjects of the Diploma of Secondary Education Examination. Headmaster Lam Tat-ho said that apart from two invigilators in each classroom, there is also a deputy centre supervisor on each floor for communication and co-ordination. In order to minimise the gathering of people, tables and chairs in the school's covered playground have been sealed with plastic bags, restricting candidates to sit on the diagonal. He pointed out that candidates with three emergencies would be asked to use the toilets on floors two to four respectively, and that diagrams had been posted on each floor. Candidates were also urged to stay in the examination centre when they had a break, and that "once they left the centre, they would be required to take a temperature test when they re-entered".

 

　　Although candidates wore masks throughout the outbreak, coughing and sniffling in the examination centre could easily make other candidates worry about the spread of the virus. Mr Lam admitted that he could not force them to go to the special room, but he would surround the candidate with a transparent lab sheet to reassure other candidates. He reminded candidates that they should go to the correct examination centre, "I believe that most of the examination centres do not have extra seats for candidates coming from other examination centres.

 

　　Separately, HKEAA confirmed that as some examination centres had to be relocated and it would take time to sort out and finalise the candidates' centre allocation arrangements, it was expected that the updated Admit Cards would start to be distributed to schools in due course, and details would be announced as soon as they were confirmed.