Strict checks on attendance

Educational establishments in Shanghai, from kindergartens to universities, have been ordered to tighten attendance and health checks on students and teachers and report to health authorities daily.

An emergency notice issued by the Shanghai Education Commission calls for an investigation into every case where a student or teacher asks for sick leave or is absent.

Students and teachers with an unexplained fever, accompanied by a runny nose, sore throat or cough, should be sent to hospital for treatment, it said.

In the case of an unusually large number of cases, schools are required to report to disease prevention and control institutes within two hours.

Schools should also be equipped with enough taps and disinfectant to ensure basic hygiene, the commission said.

Parents who are keeping their children off school for fear of the virus should make sure the school knows why their children are absent, the commission said.