Beijing says it will reopen primary, secondary schools as COVID-19 cases recede

SHANGHAI: Beijing's education commission said on Saturday (Jun 25) all primary and secondary school students in the capital can to return to in-person classes from Monday, as COVID-19 cases have receded in recent days.

Kindergartens will be allowed to reopen from Jul 4, the commission added.

Beijing shut its schools in early May and asked students to move to online learning amid a spike in locally transmitted COVID-19 cases. Senior year students at middle and high schools were allowed to return to classrooms from Jun 2.

The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports said separately that sports activities for the young can resume at non-school locations on Jun 27 in areas where no community cases have been reported for seven consecutive days, with the exception of basement venues, which will remain shut.

Participation should be limited to 75 per cent of normal capacity and participants should show a negative COVID-19 test taken within the last 72 hours, it also said.

Beijing was among several cities in China that implemented curbs to stop the spread of the Omicron wave from March to May. The efforts have brought cases down but have taken a heavy toll on the country's economy.

Shanghai, which endured a two-month lockdown that was lifted on Jun 1, on Saturday reported no new local cases - both symptomatic and asymptomatic - for the first time since Feb 23.

Shanghai is continuing to conduct mass PCR testing for its 25 million residents every weekend until the end of July and dining indoors remains banned in most of the city.