Pupils of the China Welfare Institute Nursery in Shanghai enjoy fun activities on Tuesday. Photo: Chen Xia/GT

Shanghai public kindergartens and nurseries reopened on Tuesday to welcome, as dubbed by Chinese netizens, the youngest "little monsters" back to campus. Some private kindergartens and nurseries also reopened on Tuesday, subject to approval from the city authority. 

As planned, the first to third graders at primary schools returned to campus Tuesday, the last batch of students to be back on campus in the city.

Notably, the China Welfare Institute Nursery in downtown Shanghai has staggered the entry and exit timings for their students, in a bid to mitigate any infection risk. Over 380 children aged between two and six have returned to the nursery. 

Strict and systematic disease control measures have been adopted. Temperature screening and hand sanitization are mandatory for the kids and parents, upon arrival in the school premises, Fang Yue, president of the kindergarten, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Kindergarten doctors have also been assigned for quick health check of each kid before they enter the class. 

Fang informed that the health checks would be conducted thrice every day to ensure the healthiness of the kids. Social distancing measures are also implemented during meals.

Wang, the father of a three-year-old girl, told the Global Times the kindergarten has helped his daughter learn about the coronavirus, including preventive measures, through animation videos and interactive games, during her stay at home. 

Wang also pointed out that in order to reduce the anxiety of separation of the children from their families, and help them adapt to the teachers and nursery staff members, teachers interacted daily with the kids and parents via video calls, and read bedtime stories online for the kids. 

"Such a practice worked very well to make my kid get used to kindergarten life, in advance. I am now not worried that my kid would be scared or feel strange when she goes to the kindergarten after such a long-stay at home," Wang said.

Parents of all kindergarteners in Shanghai can choose whether to let their children resume classes. According to the education authorities, nearly 2,000 of these kindergartens and nurseries will reserve the vacancy for those who choose not to do rejoin classes temporarily.