<p>Chinese youngsters in the global virus epicentre of Wuhan filed back to class on Wednesday, wearing masks and walking in single file past thermal scanners.</p>.<p>Senior school students in 121 institutions were back in front of chalk boards and digital displays for the first time since their city -- the ground zero of the coronavirus pandemic -- shut down in January.</p>.<p>"School is finally reopening!" posted one user of Weibo, China's Twitter-like short messaging platform.</p>.<p>"This is the first time that I'm so happy to go back to school, although I have to sit a monthly examination on the 8th."</p>.<p>Teenagers sat at individual desks spaced a metre (3.3 feet) apart, seeing their teachers in the flesh after months of distance learning.</p>.<p>Wednesday's back-to-school was the latest step in a gradual normalising of life in Wuhan and surrounding Hubei province.</p>.<p>The city, where the coronavirus appeared late last year before spreading around the world, was locked down for 76 days and only reopened last month.</p>.<p>Only the province's oldest students were present on Wednesday -- vocational students and seniors who are due to take the make-or-break university entrance exams.</p>.<p>Return dates have generally not been confirmed for junior and middle school students, although some localities have allowed their return as well.</p>.<p>Officials in Wuhan say students and staff must all have had virus tests before going back to school, and campuses have been disinfected and cleaned.</p>.<p>In preparation for reopening, some schools spaced out their desks and organised smaller class sizes, according to local media.</p>.<p>Thermal scanners greeted everyone walking through school gates, and anyone with a high temperature was not allowed in.</p>.<p>State-run China Daily said some places arranged staggered arrival times for teachers and students.</p>.<p>Armed police officers were seen standing guard at the entrance of Wuhan No.17 Middle School, with officers also pictured outside other schools around the province.</p>.<p>Elsewhere in China, schools that have been closed or online-only since January began gradually reopening last month, with Beijing and Shanghai letting some students return last week.</p>.<p>China's major cities are gradually returning to normal after imposing strict travel restrictions and closing huge swathes of the economy to control the spread of the virus.</p>.<p>In recent months infections nationwide have d</p>.<p><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/coronavirus-live-news-updates-total-COVID-19-cases-deaths-India-may-2-lockdown-mumbai-bengaluru-delhi-ahmedabad-kolkata-maharashtra-karnataka-red-orange-zone-832551.html"><b>Track live updates on coronavirus here</b></a></p>.<p>windled, and there have been no new cases reported in Hubei province for over a month.</p>.<p>Over a five-day holiday to start the month, there were 115 million domestic trips, with many tourist sites reopening -- although with limited attendance.</p>.<p>Shanghai Disneyland will reopen next week, the entertainment giant said Tuesday, with enhanced safety measures including temperature screening and social distancing.</p>.<p>However, most foreigners are still banned from entering the country as China works to contain infections being brought in from overseas.</p>.<p>Chinese nationals returning home must undergo 14 days of quarantine.</p>
<p>Chinese youngsters in the global virus epicentre of Wuhan filed back to class on Wednesday, wearing masks and walking in single file past thermal scanners.</p>.<p>Senior school students in 121 institutions were back in front of chalk boards and digital displays for the first time since their city -- the ground zero of the coronavirus pandemic -- shut down in January.</p>.<p>"School is finally reopening!" posted one user of Weibo, China's Twitter-like short messaging platform.</p>.<p>"This is the first time that I'm so happy to go back to school, although I have to sit a monthly examination on the 8th."</p>.<p>Teenagers sat at individual desks spaced a metre (3.3 feet) apart, seeing their teachers in the flesh after months of distance learning.</p>.<p>Wednesday's back-to-school was the latest step in a gradual normalising of life in Wuhan and surrounding Hubei province.</p>.<p>The city, where the coronavirus appeared late last year before spreading around the world, was locked down for 76 days and only reopened last month.</p>.<p>Only the province's oldest students were present on Wednesday -- vocational students and seniors who are due to take the make-or-break university entrance exams.</p>.<p>Return dates have generally not been confirmed for junior and middle school students, although some localities have allowed their return as well.</p>.<p>Officials in Wuhan say students and staff must all have had virus tests before going back to school, and campuses have been disinfected and cleaned.</p>.<p>In preparation for reopening, some schools spaced out their desks and organised smaller class sizes, according to local media.</p>.<p>Thermal scanners greeted everyone walking through school gates, and anyone with a high temperature was not allowed in.</p>.<p>State-run China Daily said some places arranged staggered arrival times for teachers and students.</p>.<p>Armed police officers were seen standing guard at the entrance of Wuhan No.17 Middle School, with officers also pictured outside other schools around the province.</p>.<p>Elsewhere in China, schools that have been closed or online-only since January began gradually reopening last month, with Beijing and Shanghai letting some students return last week.</p>.<p>China's major cities are gradually returning to normal after imposing strict travel restrictions and closing huge swathes of the economy to control the spread of the virus.</p>.<p>In recent months infections nationwide have d</p>.<p><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/coronavirus-live-news-updates-total-COVID-19-cases-deaths-India-may-2-lockdown-mumbai-bengaluru-delhi-ahmedabad-kolkata-maharashtra-karnataka-red-orange-zone-832551.html"><b>Track live updates on coronavirus here</b></a></p>.<p>windled, and there have been no new cases reported in Hubei province for over a month.</p>.<p>Over a five-day holiday to start the month, there were 115 million domestic trips, with many tourist sites reopening -- although with limited attendance.</p>.<p>Shanghai Disneyland will reopen next week, the entertainment giant said Tuesday, with enhanced safety measures including temperature screening and social distancing.</p>.<p>However, most foreigners are still banned from entering the country as China works to contain infections being brought in from overseas.</p>.<p>Chinese nationals returning home must undergo 14 days of quarantine.</p>