The Education Bureau of Guangzhou’s Nansha district assigned a customized coach bus on March 25 to take back local academic faculty and staff from Central China’s Hubei province, the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in China.

After a ride of more than 10 hours, the bus arrived at the destination around 23:00. The driver then returned the passengers to their own communities one by one.

“The bus directly brought us back from Hubei. It was very safe and reassuring, and we’re very grateful to the district for its help and care,” said a teacher surnamed Wang from the local experimental primary school.

Since the outbreak, the bureau has paid close attention to faculty and staff members who stayed in Hubei, carrying out early inspections and registration of them in key areas of concern.

The bus trip was conducted in strict accordance with the requirements of epidemic prevention and control. The passengers’ health conditions were monitored in real time, and they were provided with food and protective materials such as fruits and masks.

The district’s efforts on epidemic prevention and control as well as online education are progressing in an orderly manner, according to a responsible official.

It has conducted three rounds of comprehensive on-site supervision of primary and secondary schools, kindergartens, and out-of-school education and training institutions through checklists and carpet inspection methods. The coverage rate was 100 percent.

At the same time, spreading of prevention and control knowledge and emergency response exercises are being conducted to ensure safe and orderly teaching in all schools.