Students in face masks returned to class in Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the coronavirus first emerged last year, as the city opened schools and kindergartens for the first time in seven months.

Nearly 1.4 million students resumed classes at some 2,800 kindergartens, primary and middle schools across the city, following the reopening of high schools in May. 

Schools have drawn up plans to switch back to online teaching should new outbreaks emerge, city officials said last week.

Students were advised to wear masks to and from school and avoid public buses or trains if possible.

Schools were also ordered to conduct drills and training sessions to help prepare for new outbreaks.

Official figures show Wuhan accounted for 80 percent of China's more than 4,600 coronavirus-related deaths and was under a strict lockdown for more than two months from late January. 

China has now largely controlled the spread of the virus, and schools across the country -- which were closed in late January -- have gradually reopened.

Source: ENCA

BDST: 1202 HRS, SEP 02, 2020
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