Wang Dengfeng, an official in charge of virus prevention at the Ministry of Education, told a media briefing that China would coordinate with schools and local authorities to try to reduce the number of students returning at any one time.
Ten provinces and regions as well as the municipalities of Shanghai and Chongqing have all announced that schools will remain closed until at least the beginning of March, as they try to get to grips with the epidemic that has already killed more than 1,100 people on the Chinese mainland.