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

Coronavirus China

Phoebe Zhang

Published: 6:00pm, 5 Sep 2022

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Online teaching, masks and frequent testing mark the beginning of classes for a third school year as China battles the latest Covid-19 flare-ups.

In the southern technology hub of Shenzhen, the government announced that from September 1, all students would attend online teaching, while seniors in high schools would be managed in a closed loop on campus.

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.

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The Chengdu municipal government apologised over the weekend for its disordered management of coronavirus measures leading to long queues and the breakdown of its electronic testing system.

Chengdu and Shenzhen are among more than 30 cities in China that have imposed some degree of restriction to try to quell a new wave of infections in the lead-up to the Communist Party’s national congress in just over a month.

A delayed start to the school year was also announced in northeastern Liaoning province, southeastern Hainan and east Shandong.

On Monday, China reported 303 local confirmed cases and 1,012 local asymptomatic infections.

And in cities where schools resumed on time, measures were put in place for students and staff to monitor their health and test frequently.

In Shanghai, where residents endured two months of hard lockdown that ended in June, students must be Covid tested and have their temperature taken twice every day.

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Chen Xiaolei, whose daughter is in her first year of high school and has been taking daily coronavirus tests since school opened on September 1, said her daughter had grown used to it.

“I am more concerned about seeing a sudden outbreak that will send the school back to online teaching rather than having daily tests. That will be too troublesome for her studies,” Chen said.

In Beijing, schoolchildren could start the autumn semester on September 1 as scheduled as long as they wore masks and provided a negative test result for the previous 48 hours. Parents have been asked to print out their children’s QR code for their children to be tested at school and to test their children on weekends so that they can return to school with a negative test result.

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Besides disruptions to the school schedule, shows, exhibits and other events – including the annual Chengdu Motor Show, one of China’s biggest, and Pet Fair Asia in Shenzhen – have been cancelled under China’s strict zero-Covid policy.

Multiple governments and local media have issued statements ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival on Saturday, asking residents to stay put for the holidays and avoid travelling, family gatherings and dining with large groups of people.

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