Firefighters conduct disinfection in China Three Gorges University in Yichang City, central China's Hubei Province, June 17, 2020. Graduating students of China Three Gorges University will return to school starting from June 20, 2020. (Photo by Wang Shen/Xinhua)

Central China's Hubei, the province hit hardest by the coronavirus, announced Thursday that primary schools and kindergartens in the province will not reopen this semester, while middle and high schools can resume based on the premise of meeting epidemic control conditions.

Non-graduating students at colleges and universities are not allowed to return either. Those who have special needs can return only after receiving approval from the school.

Current semesters will be short as the authorities asked that summer vacations for schools of all levels and types should not be later than the end of July.

Moreover, qualified training centers outside schools can start their business after receiving approval from local epidemic control authorities, the province's epidemic control authority announced.

Things will possibly return to normal in the upcoming fall semester this year, based on the announcement from the epidemic control authority. For the upcoming fall semester this year, all elementary and middle schools, kindergartens and colleges and universities will start classes at the same time as they did in previous years, the announcement said.

Graduates and undergraduates admitted to schools this year can start their semester in September, and freshmen in vocational schools can start in October.

Hubei lowered its COVID-19 emergency response to the third level, the second-lowest, on June 13, a week after the province cleared all confirmed COVID-19 cases