Normal school classes given go ahead for spring semester

China is able to fully resume normal school teaching for the spring semester given its current COVID-19 epidemic situation, the Ministry of Education said on Tuesday. 

Due to concerted efforts from education authorities and schools, there have been no cluster infections on a campus since the start of the outbreak and there were no new confirmed or suspected cases reported in schools during the Spring Festival holiday, said Wang Dengfeng, head of the ministry's Department of Physical, Health and Arts Education.

The increasing movement of people with the start of the new semester will bring more pressure on schools' epidemic prevention and control, and they should not be slack in their containment efforts, he said at a news conference. 

Local education authorities should decide school re-opening plans and stagger the time for the new semester, based on the local epidemic situation, he said, adding that students and faculty should take epidemic control measures during travel back to school.