Students enter a middle school in Tsuen Wan in the western New Territories of south China's Hong Kong, May 27, 2020. (Photo: Xinhua)

Primary and secondary schools as well as kindergartens in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will resume face-to-face classes in two phases following a recent drop in the number of new COVID-19 cases, said Kevin Yeung, Hong Kong's secretary for education on Monday.

The resumption of classes on September 23 will be arranged for grades 1, 5 and 6 for primary and secondary schools as well as upper kindergarten students, with other grades to resume on September 29.

For pupils who attend classes in Hong Kong from Shenzhen, since the school resumption involves issues about different epidemic control measures in the two cities, as well as cross-border traffic control measures, the HKSAR government is discussing with mainland authorities possible solutions for such students , especially those in secondary schools.

Yang also encouraged school faculty and students to join the community-wide testing scheme to safely prepare for the scheduled resumption.

(Compiled by Yang Shuangning)