Shanghai to Reopen All Schools Next Month, With Daily Testing

Officials in China’s financial hub Shanghai said on Sunday they are set to reopen all schools, kindergartens and nurseries on September 1.

Kindergartens, nurseries, plus primary, middle and high schools have all been closed for months because of China’s uncompromising zero-Covid policy and the risk of spreading the coronavirus via children and teenagers.

But officials are taking no chances with the move, as all teachers and students will have to undergo nucleic acid tests for the coronavirus every day before leaving campus, according to a statement published by the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission.

The Commission also called for teachers and students to carry out a 14-day “self health management” within the city ahead of the school reopening.

Shanghai shut all schools in mid-March before the city’s two-month lockdown to combat its worst Covid outbreak in April and May.

It allowed some students of high school and middle school to return to classrooms in June while most of the rest continued home study for the remainder of the semester.

The city, the most populous in China, reported five new local infections, all asymptomatic, for Saturday, while 2,467 domestically transmitted cases were reported nationwide.

It has extended its weekly Covid-19 test requirement and extended free testing until the end of September in a bid to keep the virus in check, authorities announced on Saturday.