In learning full-time from home, Qin's students have been just as busy as she has.

In the locked down epicenter of the outbreak in Hubei province, Wuhan No 11 High School and Wuhan Pacific High School are among those that have been exploring online education options.

Su Min, teaching supervisor at Wuhan No 11 High School, said: "Confronted by the epidemic, everyone has his or her own battlefield. Front-line medics are working at hospitals to save patients, but teachers of 12th-grade students are now working in online classrooms. When the war against the virus ends, the gaokao will have to be sat. It is our duty to help students fully prepare for the exam."

The school's online courses, launched on Jan 30 via Alibaba's DingTalk app, have been attended by more than 700 12th-grade students.

Yuan Kangyi, a 12th-grader from Wuhan who is staying with his father in Shanghai, has been following these courses every day and updating his mother, a nurse at Wuhan No 1 Hospital, on his progress.

"Studying hard is the best way to make my mom dedicated to her work," Yuan said.

For many students like him, studying online helps ease their anxieties.

Hu Zhengtian, a 12th-grader at Wuhan Pacific High School, said: "Seeing the surge in the number of people infected, I became anxious after being quarantined at home during the winter vacation. Having online classes relieves my tension and makes me focus on my studies. "The school's WeChat account shows that on Jan 30, teachers of 12th-grade students began conducting livestreaming courses via the QQ online messaging platform. Four days later, all 10th-and 11thgrade students at the school had started taking online courses.

When the new semester began online in Wuhan on Feb 10, more than 1 million primary and secondary school students and their parents viewed 426 virtual classes, according to the Wuhan education bureau.