Chinese authorities have rolled out plans for the opening of schools for the autumn semester that include targeted COVID-19 control and prevention measures to safeguard the health of students and teachers.

The Ministry of Education and the National Health Commission recently issued a guideline on COVID-19 control and prevention for all schools, including universities, primary schools and kindergartens, to facilitate their reopening for the fall semester.

Schools across the country will reopen on a staggered schedule in the coming weeks, and a number of universities and colleges in cities, including Beijing, welcomed their first batches of students who were checking in or registering on Aug 15.

The guideline said all teachers, students and staff from low-risk areas must present a green health code to be able to return to school. Those from medium-risk or high-risk areas will need to have a negative result in a nucleic acid test in the week before their return to campuses.

College staff and students will not be required to wear masks on campuses. But students and staff entering campuses should have their body temperature checked and their health code scanned, the guideline said.

Colleges and universities should step up checking, registration and management of food and parcel delivery workers entering campuses, and designate areas for the collection and delivery of parcels, it added.

The guideline also said kindergarten children will not have to wear masks, but their teachers and other staff are required to do so. Parents who are dropping off or picking up children will not be allowed to enter kindergartens or nurseries.

Students in primary and middle schools will need to carry medical face masks, but those in low-risk areas will not have to wear them, it said, adding that primary and middle schools will be put under relatively closed management, with no entry for visitors, in a bid to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19.

Schools should enhance the disinfection, ventilation and hygiene of canteens and stagger meal hours to prevent crowding, and also guide students to maintain a safe distance from each other when waiting in lines.

Students and teachers who are currently overseas will not be allowed to return to campuses until further notice.