Schools in Shenzhen brace for reopening

Of the people infected with the novel coronavirus in Shenzhen six are teachers and 21 are students, two of whom remained hospitalized. All the others have recovered, the Shenzhen municipal government said at a news conference on Wednesday.

On April 27, junior middle schools and high schools are scheduled to be reopened. Those where the infected teachers and students came from are required to closely monitor their condition, including coronavirus tests a week before reopening.

There are more than 2.32 million students and more than 219,000 teaching faculty and administrative staff in the city. The authorities attach great significance to protecting them from the coronavirus. Other students, apart from the graduates of junior middle schools and high schools, will return in different groups in light of changed circumstances.

The schools, the education bureau and the public health departments have been coordinating their efforts in preparation for the beginning of the belated new semester.

On high alert that the virus can return at any time in a new epidemic, all schools have stocked sufficient face masks, disinfectants and other essential supplies and are instructed to strictly carry out a set of pandemic control measures that cover almost all facets of their operations.

For instance, teachers and staff must receive coronavirus tests before resuming work; all people entering campus must have their temperature measured; public areas in the school, ranging from classrooms and cafeterias to restrooms and toilets, must be sterilized regularly and ventilated. Maintaining safe social distance has become compulsory.

An accountability system has also been implemented to spur the authorities and the schools to fulfill their responsibilities. Schools have also been mobilized to take concrete measures to raise the self-protection awareness of the students.