Coronavirus: schoolchildren under supervision in Wuhan, the first focus of the pandemic

Text by: RFI Follow

Quite a symbol! Nearly 58,000 high school students, most of them in their 12th grade, went back to school this Wednesday, May 6, Wuhan. The sign of a normalization of life in the capital of Hubei province from which the coronavirus pandemic started, even if after more than two months of confinement, the return to normalcy is not yet completely normal.

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with our regional correspondent, Stéphane Lagarde

The uniform of Chinese high school students - tracksuit and backpack -, concentrated faces, but also a few smiles are visible behind the masks for this long-awaited comeback.

It is generally estimated that an epidemic is eradicated after twenty days without any case of domestic contamination. However, it has already been a month since Hubei has reported any new infection. Containment is over, but yes! The teachers are there in the flesh. But you don't get out of that trauma like that.

After more than two months of confinement , this is not life before. Of course, there are thermal cameras installed at the entrance to 121 high schools, including 38 professional high schools, concerned by this reopening. Of course, too, the rules of social distancing are applied.

Chinese tray pushed back a month

If only the final year classes resume, it is to finish preparing the "  gaokao."  The Chinese bac, a real sesame for higher education, was postponed for a month because of the coronavirus. The exam will take place on July 7 and 8. But it is also to space the desks for want of being able to push back the walls.

No dates have yet been provided to other students. A staggered re-entry linked to the minimum distance meter required. Chinese classes of 50 to 60 students have grown to 30.

This distancing is more complicated to maintain during sports activities. The media also warn about wearing a mask . A third grade student from Caiyuan Middle School in Dancheng County, Henan Province died of hypoxia. He had kept his mask on during the exercises.

► Listen: Coronavirus: when Beijing prefers to forget Wuhan

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