First school semester kicks off after China optimizes COVID response

Beijing on Monday morning was engulfed by a traffic jam that residents said they hadn't seen in three years, as nearly 2 million primary and middle school students in the city swarmed onto campus after almost two months of winter vacation.

Nationwide, more than 300 million students are also heading back to school for the first semester after China relaxed most of its COVID-19 controls, bidding farewell to online schooling.

For the first time in three years, students are no longer required to submit nucleic test results and don't need to fear a sudden return to online classes. Although normal campus life was upended by COVID-19 controls in the past three years, students learned to cherish the opportunity of studying and the future ahead.

Li Lei, whose child studies at a Beijing primary school, said that there are no requirements for students to return to school. "The teacher told us to report any discomfort among our children. In such cases, students can rest at home."

A father of a first-grader in Beijing surnamed Hu told the Global Times that his daughter has not been infected with novel coronavirus yet.

"We take a fast antigen test every day at home," Hu said. Although he's a little concerned about a cluster infection at school, he is happy to send his daughter back to campus.

"It is better to let her live a normal life. She has friends at school, and we worry that staying at home all the time will affect her ability to socialize," the father said.

Yang Jian (pseudonym), a senior high school student in Beijing, got up at 5 am to prepare for a return to campus. "I have only half a year left in my senior year, so I am happy that things are back to normal," said Yang. He will focus on preparing for the gaokao, the national college entrance examinations, and cherish the rest of his time with his classmates.

Most Chinese schools, including universities, kicked off the new semester around mid-February. Although the country has scrapped most of its COVID-19 controls, schools are still taking measures in preparation to welcome 300 million students' return to campus.

A student surnamed Huang at Zhejiang University told the Global Times that her tutor asked the students to fill in a health form that includes antigen test results for COVID-19, a week before class started. New health stations were set up on campus, which provide separate rooms for anyone who is infected and provide relevant services.

Last week, Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan visited campuses in Beijing, including world-renowned Peking University and Tsinghua University. She urged schools at all levels to implement and optimize COVID-19 prevention management and fully restore the normal operation of teaching activities.

Last week, Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), said that China has just gone through a nationwide outbreak, from which most people have recovered or are still recovering.

"The overall immunity of the population is at a relatively high level," said Wu, noting that it is unlikely that a new wave of mass infections will occur in the coming months.

Beijing's CDC announced on Monday that the situation in the capital was stable, with 4.69 percent of those who took nucleic acid tests getting a positive result.

Many schools are bringing psychological health into classes to help students return to campus with a positive attitude and adjust their mindset from long-term online schooling. Many schools also set up offices for psychological consultation.

The time when spring semester begins is a high time for psychological crises among primary and middle school students, news portal thepaper.cn reported, citing education officials from Ruian, a city in Zhejiang. It said that this year, the crisis will be more severe due to the change in COVID-19 policies and a prolonged winter vacation.

To ease students' pressure, the Ruian education authority asked schools not to force students to report with homework.

Song Meihua, an official at a primary school in Manzhouli in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, said the return of normal campus life will offer a positive and healthy atmosphere for students whose campus life was disrupted by COVID-19 control measures.

"Our students and teachers are harboring hopes for the new semester, when all of us can sit in the classroom for study and hang out together," said Song. She believed that a return to campus life is meaningful for students from every perspective.

Zhang Yiwu, a professor at Peking University, said that online study had an impact on students. "Yet it was a must choice, in the face of an unknown and lethal virus," said Zhang, who is confident that students will soon adapt to the new normal in post-pandemic era.

A survey by recruitment website 51job.com published in November revealed that more than half of employers were not concerned about online studies' impact on students; instead they valued personal ability more.

Huang from Zhejiang University, who has only one and a half years left on campus, said COVID-19 disrupted her university life in the past year, as she missed late-night talks with roommates, puppy love and even the food in the university canteen.

"But it taught me a valuable lesson. Now with the new semester kicking off, the new post-COVID life unfolds in front of me."