Students in their final year of senior high school in Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province, will return to school on March 30 and graduating classes of junior high schools and secondary vocational schools will reopen on April 7, according to the Xi'an bureau of education.

Officials said the first wave of reopening involves 529 schools, 156,000 students and 50,800 teachers.

The specific reopening times for other grades still need to be issued separately, after thorough research and careful judgments are made, according to the epidemic prevention and control situation.

Until then, all primary and junior high schools and kindergartens in the city that have not received instructions for their school to reopen shall not be allowed to resume class, as well as after-school training institutions.

In order to prepare for the first group of schools to reopen, Xi'an municipal government will provide 4 million face masks to students and teachers at no charge, supplying two masks per person per day.

Officials said that after reopening, each school is required to strictly implement closed management and control the number of people in terms of admissions, teaching, activities, dining and accommodation.

In addition, teachers and students entering schools are required to verify their identity and have their body temperatures taken.

All personnel with fever, coughs and other symptoms will be put into isolation to prevent the novel coronavirus epidemic from spreading through the schools.