Wang Jingli

    wangjingli0715@163.com

    ANOTHER 800,000 Shenzhen students, including grades 7, 8, 10 and 11 and years 4 to 6 pupils, resumed school yesterday after a long suspension due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic.

    On April 28, 143,000 students in the final year of senior and junior high schools returned to campus.

    So far there are nearly 1 million students attending classes on campus.

    All schools require students to wear face masks and go through a body temperature check before entering campus, as part of measures to prevent a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    In order to avoid gatherings, several schools, including Qiaoxiang School of Futian Experimental Education Group, Futian Donghai Experimental Primary School and Nanshan Nantoucheng Primary School, have arranged for students to enter and leave campus at different times.

    The time for the first class in the afternoon at Qiaoxiang School has been postponed for years 4 to 6 pupils.

    Additionally, the school has adjusted the break time between each class from 10 minutes to 15 minutes to allow more time for students to wash their hands, according to Wang Junjian, head of Futian Experimental Education Group.

    At the same time, schools encourage students to go back home for lunch if their schools are not far from their homes.

    Buxin Middle School in Luohu District said that the cafeteria will put lunches in meal boxes in advance so that students can get their food quickly.

    For those who are staying on campus at noon, their lunch break starts at 12:40 p.m. Students have to wear masks and sit at their own desks when taking a break.

    They are not allowed to walk freely and talk to other students during that time, according to the school.

    “Teachers bring lunches to our classroom. This is good because it prevents the trouble of finding available tables at the cafeteria,” said Hou Xintong, a grade 7 student at Shenzhen Experimental School, adding that her school also placed disinfection facilities outside the classroom.

    Many schools also added epidemic prevention content to their teaching schedule on the first day of the school reopening.

    Teachers from Xiasha Primary School in Futian District said that they invited doctors from community hospitals to introduce epidemic prevention knowledge to students.

    Shenzhen traffic police authorities set up 679 points across the city with police officers to safeguard the students’ return to campus yesterday morning.

    Years 1 to 3 students will come back to campus Monday.

    However, the return date for kindergartens and special education schools will not be determined until a later time.