A primary school student uses a tablet to attend an online class. [Photo/China Daily]

Schools in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province have moved classes online to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as a number of new cases have been reported in the city since Feb 13.

As of Feb 20, 1.35 million students have taken online courses, said Zhou Zhifang, director of the education bureau of Suzhou, at a news conference.

According to Zhou, a variety of courses such as indoor physical education lessons, art lessons, epidemic prevention and mental health lessons have been provided virtually. The length of online classes is shorter than conventional ones and the pace is slower so that students will not be under too much pressure.

Students with financial problems are also provided with the necessary devices for online classes, added the official.

Universities in Suzhou, including Soochow University, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Changshu Institute of Technology, and Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, started offering online courses from Feb 21. Teachers will use multiple applications like DingTalk and Tencent Classroom to make their teaching accessible and effective.

Soochow University has also conducted trainings and exercises to make sure online classes proceed smoothly. Laboratories and operating rooms have also been moved online to provide students with authentic experiences, according Yao Jianlin, vice-principal of Soochow University.