On January 27, China’s Ministry of Education (the MOE) announced that it was postponing the start of the 2020 spring semester as follows:

1. Higher education institutions, primary and secondary schools and kindergartens under the purview of local governments to postpone the start of the 2020 spring semester. The exact reopening date would be decided by the local educational government bodies following guidelines from local CPC committees and local governments.

2. Higher education institutions affiliated to the MOE and other Central Government bodies to postpone the start of their 2020 spring semester. The reopening date would be the same with higher education institutions under the purview of local governments.

3. Schools to provide appropriate advice to students during the winter vacation to facilitate home study and give guidance on hygiene to avoid becoming infected; schools to inform students to refrain from going out, meeting people, organizing or attending mass gatherings; students to be instructed not to return to their campus before the start of the semester without permission from their schools; for students who had stayed at school during the winter vacation or had returned early ahead of the start of the new semester, schools to take appropriate prevention and control measures accordingly; schools to develop disease prevention and control plans for the new semester, routinely track the movements of students and teachers, and maintain cleanliness on the campus.