Wuhan University once again welcomes students to campus

Around 9,100 students have returned to Wuhan University in the provincial capital of Central China's Hubei province eight months after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the once hard-hit city.

Undergraduate students are making up for missed courses from Aug 24 to Sept 4 at the university, one of the most prestigious in China.

Zhang Shaodong, head of the Undergraduate College of Wuhan University, says the courses, covering 106 subjects, are designed to reinforce and supplement the online courses offered during the outbreak to ensure teaching quality.

Experiments and other courses that have to be conducted in person have also been arranged during the period, Zhang says.

"Returning to how things used to be, studying in a classroom is more familiar, and we can quickly interact and communicate with the professor," says Zhao Sibo, a student attending a physics lecture.

Shi Ying, a professor with the university's school of physics and technology, says he spent a long time preparing for the course.

"I feel comforted to see everybody sitting here together in class again. I hope we can all continue to do so," Shi says.

The university's physical library also reopened. Those who want to enter the library are required to present their QR health codes, have their temperatures taken and wear masks.

No new confirmed, asymptomatic or suspected cases of COVID-19 were reported in Hubei on Sept 1, according to the provincial health commission.

Hubei has reported a total of 68,139 confirmed COVID-19 cases, mostly in Wuhan, and 63,627 patients have been cured and discharged from hospital. The disease has claimed 4,512 lives in the province.