China holds national college entrance exam with tailored COVID-19 countermeasures

BEIJING -- China has adopted tailored measures to ensure candidates take the 2022 national college entrance exam on schedule despite the impact of the latest COVID-19 resurgences.

The exam, also known as the "gaokao," saw a record 11.93 million candidates sign up this year. Except for a postponement in Shanghai due to COVID-19, the exam kicked off Tuesday nationwide.

Apart from 330,000 ordinary exam rooms and 1.02 million proctors and relevant staff members, additional backup exam rooms, sites and personnel have been reserved for the exam, according to the Ministry of Education.

In provincial-level areas of Beijing, Liaoning and Sichuan, exam services have been provided to 12 candidates who tested positive for COVID-19 in makeshift hospitals.

Authorities have also assigned special exam rooms for 120 students in designated isolation facilities and for more than 700 students in closed-off management areas.