Back to school: Learning to keep apart as classes reopen during the COVID-19 pandemic

Director Juergen Scheuermann welcomes students as schools reopen at the Karl-Rehbein high school in Hanau, Germany.

Elementary students sit in a classroom using plastics to separate desks in West Sumatra province, Indonesia

A student wearing a protective face mask stands on a mark for social distancing at a classroom in Funabashi, east of Tokyo, Japan

Students and teachers wear protective face masks while keeping social distance as schools reopen in Hanau, Germany

Students of Sam Khok school wearing face masks and face shields are seen inside old ballot boxes repurposed into partitions as schools nationwide reopen, at Pathum Thani province, Thailand

A student of Sam Khok school sits inside an old ballot box repurposed into partitions as schools nationwide reopened in Thailand

Kindergarten students from the Wichuthit school eat their lunch during a social distancing rehearsal ahead of nationwide schools reopening in Bangkok, Thailand.

Children use hoops for social distancing at L'Ecole des Petits, an independent French bilingual school, as the lockdown eases in Fulham, London

Students wearing protective face masks respect social distancing as they walk past lockers at the College Rosa Parks school during its reopening in Nantes, France.

A teacher eats with students at a school where senior middle school students have returned to campus in Yichang, Hubei province, China.

Students stand on social distancing marks before entering a classroom at a primary school during its reopening in Jumet, Belgium.

A child, part of a small group aged between 6 to 10 years-old is seen at a nursery school, as part of a pilot test to see how social distancing can work in schools throughout the region of Piedmont, near Vercelli, Italy.

Schoolchildren line up as they enter the primary school Simone Veil during its reopening in Nice as a small part of French children head back to their schools with new rules and social distancing in France.

A schoolchild and teacher wear face masks in a classroom at a primary school during its reopening in Brussels, Belgium.

Students wearing protective face masks sit in a classroom at D. Pedro V High School in Lisbon, Portugal.

A teacher talks to a student as Austrian schools reopen for pupils aged roughly six to 14 in Brunn am Gebirge, Austria.

Schoolchildren line up as they enter the primary school Simone Veil during its reopening in Nice, France.

Students practice social distancing in the courtyard at the College Sasserno school during its reopening in Nice, France.

Students wearing protective face masks clap along instead of singing during a music class at Takanedai Daisan elementary school in Funabashi, east of Tokyo.

Green dots placed in the schoolyard to help students keep distancing in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada.