MORE than 580,000 primary school students in grades 1 to 3 returned to school yesterday after learning from home for over two months due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, sznews.com reported.

Beginning yesterday, all students in primary, middle and high schools across the city have resumed face-to-face teaching.

Traffic police officers, volunteers, teachers and faculty were all working in and around schools to ensure that students returned to campus safely yesterday morning.

Shenzhen Primary School in Luohu District provided students with a bag, which contains face masks, epidemic prevention guidance and a health report card.

Several boxes used to collect homework were placed on desks located outside each class in Heping Experimental School in Longhua District to avoid touching.

Liwan Primary School in Nanshan District has decorated the school with red lanterns and colorful flags before students returned, as a special way to warmly welcome the students.

Students have to wash their hands and go through a body temperature check before entering the campus in Jingpeng Primary School in Futian District.

Wu Hanzhen, a grade-3 student in Jingpeng Primary School, said that he was happy to go back to school. “I will talk to my classmates because we haven’t seen each other for a long time. I want to play basketball with my friend Chen Mingtao,” said Wu.

Chen Mingtao’s mother said that she is as happy as her son is at being able to return to school and feels a burden is being lifted.

The return date for kindergartens and special education schools will be determined at a later time. (Wang Jingli)