Schools in Tokyo, Hokkaido and the prefectures of Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama have reopened following the nationwide lifting of the state of emergency over the new coronavirus.
Nearly three months have passed since schools in these areas closed across the board on March 2 at the request of the central government. Schools around the nation are now restarting under unusual conditions, seeking to make up for delays in schoolwork while taking thorough measures to prevent infection.
At the municipal Arakawa Daisan Nippori Elementary School in Arakawa Ward, Tokyo, cheerful students arrived at the school wearing masks. It was raining slightly, but the opening ceremony was held in the schoolyard to avoid having the children in close proximity. They lined up holding umbrellas, with a certain amount of distance between them.
An 11-year-old girl in the sixth grade said: "Our school year always starts during cherry blossom season, so it's a little strange. I hope we can take off our masks and play together soon."
Eighty-four children participated in the school's entrance ceremony for first-grade students, which was held in a gymnasium, after waiting in six separate classrooms for it to start. Family attendance was limited to two people per household、and invited guests and most of the other students at the school did not appear.
At the entrance to the municipal Kakio Elementary School in Kawasaki, students submitted their "health checkup cards" containing such information as their temperature taken that morning. Teachers checked students' physical condition and whether they had masks on.
A hand-washing station that 35 students can use at once has been set up at the municipal Yaguchidai Elementary School in Sagamihara. Teachers and staff at the school managed to create a new mechanism that has holes in a transparent vinyl hose about 50 centimeters apart. This is longer than than the 35- to 45-centimeter intervals at typical hand wash stations. Water comes out all the holes at once, enabling students to wash their hands without touching a faucet.
At the municipal Kitakujo Elementary School in Sapporo, teachers and other staff clean classrooms and corridors, a task usually performed by students before the homeroom session prior to their leaving school. According to the school, the aim is to prevent students from getting close to each other on such occasions as cleaning the floor and wiping things with a dustcloth.
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