Schools in South Korea have reopened on Wednesday, May 20 after a month-long closure amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Safe distancing measures taken in South Korea schools

In a phased reopening plan, high school seniors were the first to return to school and attend classes in person.

Other students, including preschoolers, will return to school on June 8, 2020.

Previously, online classes were conducted as part of precautionary measures against the virus outbreak.

The South Korean government postponed the reopening of schools five times before May 20, 2020, according to Yonhap News Agency.

Safe distancing measures in South Korean schools have been put in place to prevent a viral outbreak, such as spacing out desks and fitting them with plastic dividers, installing fever checkpoints and implementing social distancing with plastic barriers in cafeterias.

(2nd LD) Schools reopen for high school seniors amid lingering virus fears https://t.co/NxvBcWi7vN

— Yonhap News Agency (@YonhapNews) May 20, 2020

For high school seniors, in-person classes are important in the run-up to South Korea's national university entrance exam in November.

Students in S'pore to progressively return to schools from June 2

In Singapore, students will progressively return to schools and Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) from June 2, 2020.

For MOE Kindergartens, K1 and K2 children will also return to school from June 2.

The school holidays, which were originally held in June were brought forward, starting from May 5 to June 1.

Students in graduating cohorts have progressively returned to school since May 19 (Tue) in preparation for their national exams.

From June 2, students will return to school in two phases.

In the first phase, students will attend classes in person in staggered sessions, while all students will return to school in the second phase.

Top image via Hankookilbo