88% of city's senior students jabbed

About 88% of senior high school students in the capital have been inoculated against Covid-19 with the Pfizer vaccine ahead of the resumption of on-site teaching next month, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) announced on Sunday.

BMA's permanent secretary, Khachit Chatchawanit, said 33,048 out of the 37,466 high school seniors in Bangkok who had registered for a vaccine have received their shots as of yesterday.

Meanwhile, 29,252 junior high school students who have registered for a vaccine will receive their shots between today and Wednesday.

School staff which have yet to be vaccinated will receive a combined formula of Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines, Mr Khachit said.

The BMA is coordinating with the Education Ministry, Public Health Ministry and other agencies to administer the vaccines, and provide guidance for students and parents on what to avoid after the shots, which includes strenuous exercises for a few weeks, Mr Khachit said.

On-site teaching in Bangkok will resume under universal prevention guidelines, with classrooms and schedules being re-arranged to reduce contact. The measure also limits classes to 25 students per room.

Alcohol gel will be provided and everyone must wear face masks and pass screening checkpoints and comply with social-distancing measures on school grounds.

Students and staff must be vaccinated and get tested with antigen test kits on the first day of school. They must regularly fill out the "Thai Save Thai" form to enable quicker contact tracing in case of an outbreak.

District offices, public health service centres and other agencies will randomly test at least 10-20% of students and education personnel with ATKs two times each week.

In addition, students and education personnel must record daily timelines every day. Outdoor activities must pass the public health guidelines set by authorities.

Students who are suspected to have contracted the virus will immediately be isolated.