High and middle school students in Shanghai and Beijing have returned to class on Monday after the closure of schools for  three months, a measure taken ​ to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.

In Shanghai, students queued outside the school’s entrance with marks at a one-metre distance on the ground to maintain social distancing.

They also had to pass through a thermal detector before seeing their classmates again.

A 15-year old student,  Xu Sijun said: “Actually, the pandemic has impacted us. But it has affected everyone. Studying at home actually is up to your own self-discipline. You need to look at yourself and see if you are self-disciplined. If you are not, then studying at home won’t be effective. Then, you will be scared of upcoming tests.”

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Although the city has not reported any new domestic cases for a while, parents still had some apprehension about the change. Some were happy with the measures being taken which​ included assigned seating and plastic shields. Others were not so confident.

Also, 43-year-old parent of student, Sun Zhiping said: “I am only worried about the development of the epidemic when school reopens – nothing else to worry about. After all, children are still very young and they know nothing about hygiene. They need some guidance from teachers.”

“Generally I am happy – not worrying so much. I think the school prepared sufficiently. It had parent meetings in advance. Teachers had detailed plans in place two weeks ago. This is way beyond any parent’s expectation. So I am not that concerned about this part,” another 47-year-old parent of student, Sha Li said.

According to Shanghai’s education commission, schools will make preparations to resume classes for other grades before May 6th, ​ with the specific timing to be announced by each school.

Shanghai is still dealing with imported cases of the virus, including 303 new ones as of the end of Sunday.