Coronavirus: students in China face another unpredictable school year amid outbreaks and strict measures
- Many schools delayed the semester start due to outbreaks, and even for those resuming on time, remote learning, mask mandates and Covid tests remain
- For one mother, daily testing of her high-school aged daughter is less disruptive to learning than an outbreak that forces students to learn online
On Thursday, some schools held online ceremonies to mark the beginning of the semester with the children singing in a chorus and listening to their principal’s address from their computer screens at home.
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A woman in Shenzhen with a daughter in high school said she had to stay home and cook for her daughter so they could abide by the new rule.
“We used to have hired help who came in to cook and clean every day, but due to pandemic restrictions, she isn’t allowed in,” she said.
By Monday, when 71 local infections were recorded, she had not received any further updates on when the students could go back to school.
Shenzhen finished a two-day lockdown in six major districts at the weekend and swift mass testing was carried out to minimise community transmission.
In Chengdu, kindergarten, primary and middle school students made a delayed start to the semester on Monday, but via online teaching only because of an outbreak. The city imposed four days of lockdown and citywide testing that had been intended to finish on Sunday, but residents were then told the virus control measures would continue until Wednesday.