Students at the No 1 Senior Middle School Affiliated with East China Normal University in Shanghai return to school for classes on April 27. Schools designate the first class for students to be about psychological health.[Photo by Cao Zichen/For China Daily]

Besides mandating the use of facemasks, regularly disinfecting campuses, measuring body temperatures and ensuring that every person in the school practices hand sanitization, schools have also been trying to minimize the psychological impact that the pandemic might have on the students.

"Even though we have strict health standards and epidemic-control measures, the school has not placed too many posters regarding contagion control on the walls as we want to make students feel relaxed when returning to the school," says Wang Sui, vice-president of the No 1 Junior Middle School Affiliated with East China Normal University.

The school welcomed the first batch of 102 final-year students on April 27. Teachers say that as there are fewer than 20 students in each of the six classes, social distancing rules can be easily followed. Only one class is allowed to have physical education lessons at a time on the playground, the school in Hongkou district says.

To prepare the students for the changes brought about by the epidemic-control measures, the school instructed teachers to host online discussions with students two weeks ahead of its reopening.

"The teachers and students have also had many discussions about heartwarming incidents related to the novel coronavirus outbreak," Wang says.

The city's education authority also designated the first class for students who resume school in Shanghai to be about psychological health.