91Èȱ¬

Schools in China are gradually reopening with strict rules to try to keep the coronavirus under control.

Pupils returning to school in China now sit in smaller classes, have shorter lessons and must avoid public transport.

The reopening of schools has been staggered so that middle and high schools return first.

Nearly all areas of China, including Wuhan where the outbreak started, have begun some school classes, but bigger cities like Beijing and Shanghai, where there are more people in a smaller space, are taking a more cautious approach to avoid a second wave of infection.

Schools in cities with large populations are running classes with a maximum of 20 students to allow social distancing, finishing at 3.30pm every day. Parents are told to collect their children by car or to walk, to avoid busy transport like the subways.

Some schools are still making use of technology that helped during social distancing, using video calls so that teachers can instruct classes from a separate room.

These measures come as China says it has 'won the war' against the coronavirus. The number of new cases of people catching the disease is now down to double figures.

Globally, more than a billion children have had their education disrupted because of Covid-19.

It may many be weeks before schools are reopened in the UK, but China is one of a few countries now getting somewhere close to normality.

Israel, Norway, Japan, Denmark, and Taiwan have all seen infection numbers drop dramatically enough for schools to reopen.

In all of these countries, the schools are being careful to try and prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Measures include teachers taking students' temperatures on arrival, keeping playgrounds closed, spacing desks two metres apart to stick to social distancing, and teaching outside in small groups when possible.

When schools reopen in the UK it's likely that some of these measures could be used here.

Tell us in the comments what you would like to happen when you're allowed back to school.