Students from Beijing’s international schools are excited yet nervous about the uncertainty of the weeks to come, with school out indefinitely and most institutions planning some method of online learning.

Most schools were due back from Chinese New Year holiday on February 3, but most, if not all, have postponed the start of school until at least February 17 in the face of rising uncertainty about the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus.

“Honestly, I’m really happy about the extended holiday, considering all the extra hours I’ll get for sleep and extra time for self-learning,” said Celine T, a Harrow Beijing Grade 7 student. “I’m relieved about how we get to stay home and meet fewer people, reducing the risk of getting infected.”

Jessica L, a Year 10 student at Dulwich College Beijing (DCB), has a different perspective. “I would actually rather go to school,” she said. “Personally, I think online learning relies too much on the internet connection; and the wifi at my house isn’t amazing,” she said.

She notes that previous attempts by her class to hold classes online resulted in spotty connections and missed content. “I couldn’t even hear what the teacher was saying at times,” she said.

Jessica suggested it might be a better idea to pre-record lessons and then ask students to email teachers instead of going through the trouble of interrupting the whole class in a live streaming lesson.

Sophie G, a Western Academy of Beijing (WAB) Grade 7 student, is mostly happy about being safe. “Homeschooling kids instead of letting them go to school during this period is a good choice to make,” she said. “I’m saying this not only because I’m a kid and I don’t like going to school, but also because of what I’ve heard about the coronavirus: it’s extremely contagious.”

“Since there are so many kids that go to school, there are a lot more chances of the coronavirus spreading around school grounds,” she said.

Photos: Unsplash

A huge portion of our readership either works in or has children in Beijing’s vast system of public and private schools. The past two days have seen a flurry of information that has been next to impossible to keep up with, but here’s what we know through the end of the day (Tuesday, January 28):

The Education Ministry issued the following directive and also touched base directly with all private international schools regarding re-opening dates going forward.

All international schools (and local schools for that matter), from preschool through university, are now under order from the education ministry to open only when they say it is safe to do so.

Currently, the ministry’s directives make no mention of a specific opening date, but did say that the opening is likely to be “delayed”. Chinese public schools, which have longer breaks for Chinese New Year, were originally supposed to start on February 17; therefore it can be assumed that the re-opening date will definitely be after this date.

Most schools are now communicating with parents and staff to expect this to last quite a bit longer, and are making preparations to start online learning initiatives. We have been copied into many of the schools’ communications and all have been saying roughly the same thing: that no one is really sure when schools will resume, it will entirely depend on the scope of the outbreak later this month.

Some schools are asking personnel to return in February anyhow, as official sources are recommending school staff, as well as school students and their families, should return to Beijing two weeks in advance of the expected start date of school to go through a period of self-quarantine. The limited information that researchers know about the virus so far is that the likely maximum incubation time is 14 days, so two weeks at home will ensure school staff and family are free from any incidental exposure while away from the city or in transit back.

Photos: Unsplash

As the Coronavirus continues to spread and claim lives, companies are taking various measures to help prevent the spread of the disease. Last night at midnight, DiDi announced that they’ll be suspending their Beijing inter-city reshaping services, inter-city taxi-hailing serves, and inter-city designated driving services starting on January 26. The municipal transport authorities have already suspended all inter-provincial road passenger transports since Sunday to curb the spread of Coronavirus, the Beijing News reported. It’s unclear from their message whether the decision to suspend Beijing’s inter-city services is a corporate one or a request from local authorities or when they will resume their inter-city services.

*To clarify: inter-city means from one city to another city — in other words, if you want to take a DiDi to Tianjin, you’re out of luck. Normal ride hailing within city limits is not affected.

In the days leading up to the decision, DiDi had already encouraged their drivers to wear masks, disinfect their cars every day, and leave the windows open to allow for proper air circulation.

For those staying in Beijing this week, DiDi’s car services will be operating normally and their CNY price hike still applies. Until our beloved city gets its groove back, we encourage families to take the appropriate precautions to stay safe.

The app automatically adds a gratuity fee or ‘surge’ in order to reward those drivers who haven’t fled the city due to the virus or have not returned home during the spring festival period. The surcharge fee applies as from Tuesday, Jan 21 until Monday, Feb 3 and will apply to all types of rides, including carpooling service. Expect to pay as much as an extra RMB 9 per ride during this period.

One more handy feature (presumably, also available only in the Chinese version of the app) is the “Spring Festival Rider Guide.” where users will be able to check this in-app guide for up-to-date information on average hailing success rates as well as the most difficult times and areas to hail a car.

Source: DiDi Chuxing, The Beijinger, China Daily
Photos: giphy, Pan Daily, Property Portal Watch, Mike Wester