Five months after the coronavirus pandemic closed Senegal’s universities, they began opening their doors on Tuesday.

The 78 000 students at the county’s largest university, Cheikh Anta Diop, in Dakar, were split into three groups. Africa News reports that some are to attend classes in person on a rotational basis, while others are to attend classes online.

Other institutions will open later this week. COVID-19 safety rules, including social distancing measures, will be imposed at all tertiary instituitions.

Schools in the country had  partially reopened on June 25.

The current numbers of cases of the virus in Senegal stands at 13 556 with 284 deaths recorded.

Umm Muhammed Umar