COVID-19 Thailand: Schools reopen with isolated desks, masks

Mask-wearing pupils catching up with friends at one Bangkok high school were quickly told to spread out as they headed back to lessons on Wednesday after months of distance learning due to coronavirus restrictions.

The school principal, Arwuth Meekhanphet, warned them all to closely follow new hygiene rules, which included the face coverings and social distancing. "You never know whether you or your friend has it," he said into an intercom. | Above: A student returning to school has her temperature taken in the southern Thai province of Narathiwat on July 1, 2020

Thailand has recorded more than 3,100 coronavirus cases and 58 deaths - a low toll considering it became the first country outside China to detect an infection, in mid-January.

A student returning to school receives hand sanitiser to disinfect her hands in the southern Thai province of Narathiwat on July 1, 2020,

Ahead of Wednesday's nationwide resumption of classes, authorities recommended that class sizes be restricted to 20-25 students while doorknobs, desks and other areas at risk of spreading infection be sanitised frequently throughout the day. | Above: Students wearing face shields observe social distancing as they line up to attend classes in a school in the southern Thai province of Narathiwat on July 1, 2020,

Student Parichat Klanpumisri said she was not concerned about catching the virus, but reported feeling nervous about meeting up with classmates again after isolating for so long. "I haven't met anyone for a long time and the atmosphere of the classroom and internet learning is so different," the 17-year-old said.

Despite the push for normality in daily life, the kingdom's cabinet on Tuesday extended its state of emergency for another month. Authorities insist the emergency laws - which critics say could be used to target political dissent and censor the press - are necessary as they prepare to receive certain travellers such as businesspeople and medical tourists. | ABove: Students wearing face masks observe social distancing as they pray in a yard in their school in the southern Thai province of Narathiwat on July 1, 2020, as schools reopened after being temporarily closed due to the threat of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus.

Students wash their hands as they return for classes in a primary school in Bangkok on July 1, 2020, as schools reopened after being temporarily closed due to the threat of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus.

Students attend the flag-raising ceremony at a secondary school in Bangkok on July 1, 2020.

Students of Sam Khok school wearing face masks and face shields are seen inside old ballot boxes repurposed into partitions as they attend a class after the Thai government eased isolation measures and introduced social distancing to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

Students of Sam Khok school wearing face masks and face shields sit inside old ballot boxes.

A student of Sam Khok school sits inside an old ballot box repurposed into partitions as she attends a class

A student of Sam Khok school sits inside an old ballot box repurposed into partitions as she attends a class