【明報專訊】Hong Kong is in an uphill fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The government has announced the extension of existing social distancing measures for a fortnight. In theory, the suspension of face-to-face classes at secondary and primary schools will continue until the Lunar New Year holidays, but schools can arrange for a small number of students to attend classes on campus. With the fourth wave of the pandemic ebbing only at a slow pace, classes should not resume in haste. Still, because of their shortcomings, online lessons will affect students' studies significantly in the long run. It is advisable to allow more flexibility in the arrangements of secondary and primary school suspension. However, as school-based arrangements are prone to confusion, the authorities should pay close attention to the circumstances on campuses to avoid confusion or even campus outbreaks. Now that New Year's Day has passed and the Chinese New Year is coming soon, the government should aim at achieving a ''zero caseload'' before the CNY. Even if it is not confident about achieving this goal, it should at least give citizens the hope that they may see zero cases after the CNY, and that they will see students returning to schools fully as soon as possible and all trades and businesses recovering gradually.