Macau's Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) has issued the following statement this afternoon. The statement has been edited by The Macau Post Daily.
In response to the adjustment of the government's mask-wearing measure and issuance of the related guidelines by the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre, considering that the relaxation of the mask measure is beneficial to the growth and the physical and psychological development of students, especially for young children, as well as better language teaching and learning, and after consultations with the Health Bureau (SSM) and listening to the opinions of the education sector, the Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) announces that starting from tomorrow, in general, teachers and students of schools of non-tertiary education will not be required to wear facemasks during classes and other school activities (including participation in inter-school competitions and camp activities).
Tertiary education institutions should refer to the relevant requirements for implementation of the adjustment. According to the guidelines of the Health Bureau, in order to protect their health, teachers and students are still required to wear masks under the following circumstances:
1. Travelling by school bus and public transport;
2. Feeling unwell, when one has flu-like symptoms such as fever, myalgia (muscular pain), sore throat, cough or runny nose;
3. Entering medical institutions or places where masks are required to be worn.
Teachers and students should have masks on hand on a daily basis, and in the event of a COVID-19 cluster infection in school, the mask-wearing requirements will be dynamically adjusted according to the actual situation. In addition, if teachers and students are unwell or have suspected symptoms, they should complete a rapid antigen test (RAT - selftest), and they are advised to upload the result to the Health Bureau's antigen test declaration platform, wear a mask, seek medical consultation in a timely manner and stay at home for rest. Cross-border teachers and students should pay attention to the relevant measures where they live and work.
Interviews for children for kindergarten admission for the first time in the academic year 2023/2024 will commence on March 1, and parents and children are not required to wear masks when entering schools or during the interviews. The DSEDJ reminds parents to pay attention to the interview dates and time set by the respective schools, be on time and inform the school as soon as possible if their child is unwell or if there are special circumstances.
