Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus outbreak and a city of 11 million was under a lockdown and its schools were closed.

However, eight months later, students are back to schools. Around 3000 schools and colleges in Wuhan have kickstarted their autumn semester.

It is not an exception as a school in Jerusalem is also opening its gates to mark a new school year. The rising cases in Israel are a matter of concern but teachers are confident that the reopening of schools will not add to the crisis.

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“We keep our distance, and they (students at class) come in capsules. Like a few kids will come at 8:00, then 08:30 etc and we’re really trying to make (keep) a distance and keep the kids healthy,” Shay Adika, a kindergarten teacher at Keshet said. In Israel, at least 2.4 million students have returned to school.

Thousands of miles away, Belgium too reopened schools.Souad Ouhabi, mother of Souleyman who is attending first day at school said, “My kid is excited (to be able go to school), he is very happy there is no problem

There, it is more me who has more apprehension.”

Students in Cuba too are back to school and most of them are very happy to be back in schools after months of social distance from his friends.

In the United Kingdom, a school in Bromley welcomed its students with balloons and hand sanitiser. The welcome day address had instructions on health, hygiene and handwashing. At a similar ceremony in Russia, parents told schools about the importance of keeping a positive attitude.

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Schools have reopened in Berlin too and face masks are non-negotiable, but identifying students behind these masks is quite a task.

So, a school in France has come up with a solution of namecards and a school in Spain is preparing to welcome back its students with social distancing, hygiene and ventilation as the mantra.

Faculty member Maria Galdeana raised a valid point when she said social distancing comes in between students interaction and ends up hampering the learning process.

However, the question is that is a socially distant classroom still better than an online one?

“We consider it’s more important to have all our students at school, even with the 1.5 metre distance, than to work remotely,” larramundi school faculty member Maria Galdeana said.

Most teachers will agree with her. The coronavirus pandemic kept more than 250 million children away from school. Most of them did not have access to online learning.

When the United States tried reopening schools, nearly 97,000 students tested positive in the first two weeks.

Earlier this week, France too sent 12 million students back to school, but soaring cases forced 22 schools to shut down again. Many students are returning to their classroom around the world.

In India, experts have written to the government suggesting reopening of schools in a graded manner. As the cases continue to rise, parents across the world watch these images with both hope and fear.