With the number of daily new COVID-19 cases back down in the single digits, schools across Taiwan are reopening for in-person classes. But they aren’t taking any chances: measures are in place to stop COVID from making a comeback.
Tears and anxiety are normal for young kids at the start of any school year, but getting back into the groove this year will be especially hard. That’s because elementary school kids have just come back from the longest summer break in Taiwan’s history, an extra-long summer brought courtesy of COVID.
Parents don’t seem to be having quite as much trouble adjusting. On Wednesday, the first day back at school, parents interviewed outside one school said they feel relieved after so many months cooped up with their children. Still, the threat of a COVID resurgence isn’t far from many minds.
To keep kids healthy and parents’ minds at ease, schools are being careful to keep young hands clean. Some are even incorporating pandemic-prevention measures into their first classes of the school year, reminding kids how to wash their hands properly and keep COVID out of the classroom.