On Thursday, North China's Tianjin rolled out specific policies for COVID-19 affected students to receive spring national college entrance examinations -gaokao in separate testing locations, revising Wednesday's controversial policy that the students would not be allowed to take the exam.

The "Spring gaokao" usually takes place in this season and it is known as a supplementary option for students to go to college, besides China's annual gaokao, which usually takes in summer.

While an announcement released by the Tianjin education and enrollment examination institute on Wednesday night said COVID-19 affected exam-goers and those who could not provide nucleic acid tests as required should not take up the exam, on Thursday morning, the institute detailed the measures that will be taken to help COVID-19 affected students sit the exam: exam-goers who are COVID-19 positive, close contacts, have a red health code, are in quarantine or in restricted area will be allowed to take the spring exam at separate locations.

The original Wednesday announcement had triggered waves of discussions on the internet with many questioning whether students who are affected by COVID-19 should be deprived of the exam opportunity.

According to the institute, if students are positive COVID-19 patients, they will take the exam at the local Haihe hospital, each student will be given a sperate room and medical staff will be present to take care of them.

Those students who are quarantined at hotels or at home or are under lockdown, will take test in individual rooms at hotels. Other independent testing locations will also be arranged for other students who are considered high-risk for COVID-19, the institute said.

Data showed that from 2018 to 2021, some 15,000 to 17,000 students in Tianjin have chosen to take the spring gaokao. The exam is for secondary vocational students and high school students to go for college. Examinees enjoy the same treatment in universities or colleges as students who were enrolled through national gaokao.

The spring gaokao in Tianjin was postponed to June 12 due to the recent COVID-19 resurgence in Tianjin.

A total of 57 cases have been reported in Tianjin in the past four days since May 15. The daily new positive cases recorded on Thursday were 33, municipal health commission reported.