Senior students walk into Wuhan No. 6 High School in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, May 6, 2020. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)
Schools in Wuhan pulled out all stops to enforce social distancing as tens of thousands of senior students returned to campus.
WUHAN, May 6 (Xinhua) -- About 57,800 students in their final year from 121 high and vocational schools returned to campus on Wednesday in Wuhan, the capital of central China's Hubei Province and a city previously hard hit by the COVID-19 outbreak.
Wearing uniforms and masks, students at Hubei Wuchang Experimental High School had their temperatures taken and hands disinfected before entering their classrooms while maintaining a one-meter distance from their classmates.
According to Ai Jianhong, the school's Party secretary, all students, teachers and staff had passed nucleic acid testing. Meanwhile, four rounds of disinfection across the campus, including classrooms, dormitories, canteens and offices had been carried out.
An observation area, with one doctor and one nurse on shift, was also set up in the school.
"If any students develop a fever, cough, or feel uncomfortable, they will be sent to the area immediately for medical examination and epidemiological investigation," Ai added.
Chen Shufei, a senior student changed the number of days left in the countdown to the national college entrance examination at the front of the classroom from "138" to "62."
Senior students attend a class in Hubei Wuchang Experimental High School in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, May 6, 2020. (Xinhua/Xiong Qi)
When Chen began her winter holiday on Jan. 20, the 18-year-old did not expect it would be for so long.
"I'm both excited and nervous to be back on campus, and I hope I can re-adjust as soon as possible and enter my dream university," said Chen. She aspires to study at Wuhan University.
High schools in Wuhan have divided every class into two mini-classes with no more than 30 students each.
"We have upgraded the whiteboard system. Students in classroom B can listen to their teacher's voice and watch PowerPoint courseware in classroom A synchronously. And those who cannot get to school can also join the course online," said Ai.
At Wuhan No. 2 High School, a psychological guidance book on trauma alleviation was distributed to each student on their first day back.
Instead of dining in canteens, students had boxed meals delivered to them in their classrooms. A few schools even arranged for some students to eat at tables set up outside classrooms to ensure social distancing during lunch.
Senior students have lunches at the canteen of Wuhan Rayson School in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, May 6, 2020. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)
The spring semester in Wuhan, which had been scheduled to begin on Feb. 10, was postponed for over 100 days due to the COVID-19 epidemic. Students in the city resorted to online classes during the prolonged break. The final-year senior high school students were among the first batch to begin online courses on Feb. 1.
"I am very excited today. In the past few months, I could only listen to my students and look at their faces via videos. Now I can finally get along with them face to face," said Li Wanju, head teacher of Chen's class.
"I hope students can protect themselves against the virus. I also hope that everyone cherishes the hard-won opportunity to study hard and achieve good results in the upcoming college entrance examination," Li said.
Affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, China's national college entrance exam has been postponed by one month to July 7 and 8. ■
