Nearly 1.4 million children in Wuhan, eastern China, have gone back to school or nursery in the city where the coronavirus pandemic started in December.

The city accounted for nearly 80% of China’s total deaths and endured nearly 11 weeks of lockdown from January.

Qing Qing Chen, a journalist for the Chinese newspaper Global Times, described some of the measures in place.

“During the weekend, a lot of schools across the city have taken a series of preventative measures, for example setting up checkpoints at each entrance to the [high school] campus,” she told the BBC’s Newsday programme.

“And this morning, before the kids go into the school, they have to [have] body temperature checks… Inside the campus, it’s not mandatory to wear a mask, but students can always bring them along.”

There are contingency plans to revert to online teaching if the virus resurfaces. 

Wuhan has been gradually returning back to normal since the lockdown was lifted in April.

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