A Zoom glitch left many US students and teachers unable to attend classes remotely for several hours on the first day of school. In Mexico, the government turned to television to broadcast classes across the country.
Image: picture-alliance/ZUMAPRESS.com/H. Rick Bamman
Advertisement
Video conference company Zoom experienced a partial outage on Monday, disrupting schools across the United States which have moved to online classes during the coronavirus pandemic.
Zoom services were down on Monday morning with users unable to load the website, while others could neither host nor join scheduled meetings. The outage lasted for about two-and-a-half hours on what was the first day of school.
"We have resolved the issue causing some users to be unable to start and join Zoom Meetings and Webinars or manage aspects of their account on the Zoom website," the company said on its website.
CEO Eric Yuan also issued an apology on Twitter and assured users that the company would try to prevent such glitches in the future.
"Today @zoom_us had a service disruption that affected many of our customers," he said. "We know the responsibility we have to keep your meetings, classrooms & important events running. I'm personally very sorry & we will all do our best to prevent this from happening in the future."
Zoom's shares fell less than 3% during regular trading.
The California-based company has experienced a surge in users since the pandemic forced millions across the world to stay home. The video conferencing tool is used for work meetings, school, social events and to otherwise stay connected during the lockdown.
Monday's outage gave students and educators in the US a glimpse of the challenges of remote learning which has become part of the new normal.
Televised classes in Mexico
Schools remain closed in many countries across the world to reduce the chance of infection, and several states are seeking alternatives to in-person classes.
The Mexican government has teamed up with four private television stations to broadcast classes to students in a nationwide experiment in remote learning.
About 30 million public school students will take lessons on their TV sets until the situation in the country improves.
"Despite the pandemic, the pain, the suffering it has caused, which unfortunately it continues to cause, we are... standing," President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Monday as he declared the new school year open.
About 30 million public school students in Mexico will take lesson on their TV setsImage: picture-alliance/AP Photo/R. Blackwell
Education Secretary Esteban Moctezuma said officials have decided to rely on television because it has far greater penetration than the internet.
He also noted how some countries have reopened schools and witnessed outbreaks while others have canceled the school year altogether. "Maybe other countries don't have the commitment of Mexican teachers," he said.
"Maybe other countries don't have a heart like our mothers and fathers. Maybe our boys, girls, and young people want to learn more than anyone in the world."
The Mexican government's ambitious plan coincides with an exodus from private schools.
About 2 million students at all levels are expected to quit private schools because of the coronavirus crisis, according to Reuters news agency. Many parents are unwilling to bear the costs of private schools due to the lack of both in-person teaching and access to facilities.
Coronavirus brings back-to-school challenges
As school holidays wind down around the world, COVID-19 infections are once again on the rise in many countries. In an effort to avoid further shutdowns, schools have adapted their approach to in-class learning.
Image: Getty Images/L. DeCicca
Thailand: Class in a box
The roughly 250 students who attend Wat Khlong Toey School in Bangkok now sit in plastic cubicles during class, and must keep their face masks all day. Sinks and soap dispensers are positioned outside each classroom, and temperatures are taken as students arrive to school in the morning. The strict measures seem to be working: the school has reported no new infections since July.
Image: Getty Images/L. DeCicca
New Zealand: School for some
These students in the capital, Wellington, are happy they can still go to school. Those in Auckland aren't so lucky. After the country went virus-free for three months, four new cases were reported in the country's largest city on August 11. Health authorities ordered the closure of schools and non-essential businesses in the city, and told citizens to stay home.
Image: Getty Images/H. Hopkins
Sweden: No special measures
Students in Sweden are still enjoying their summer holidays, but this picture of graduates taken before the break continues to symbolize the country's special approach to dealing with COVID-19. Unlike almost everywhere else in the world, the Scandinavian country has never required citizens to wear masks. Businesses, bars, restaurants and schools have all remained open.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/TT/J. Gow
Germany: Single file, at a distance
These students at Petri Primary School in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia, are exhibiting exemplary behavior. Like all schools in Germany's most populous state, theirs requires face masks. Yet unlike students in Germany's other 15 states, they must also wear them in the classroom. It's too early to tell if the measures are working, however — the school year only kicked off on August 12.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/I. Fassbender
West Bank: Back to school after 5 months
School has also resumed in Hebron, some 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of Jerusalem. Students in the region are required to wear face masks, with some schools even calling for gloves. Yet despite her mask, this teacher's enthusiasm is evident. Schools in the Palestinian territories have been closed since March, with Hebron being an epicenter of infections.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/H. Bader
Tunisia: Masked since May
This class of high school students in Tunis began wearing masks in May. As schools across the North African country resume in the coming weeks, all students will be required to wear them. When Tunisia's schools were closed for several weeks in March, parents had to school their children at home, helping them with TV and internet-based learning programs until classes could resume in early summer.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/F. Belaid
India: Teaching by loudspeaker
This school in Dandwal, in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, has a special setup for students who have no access to the internet. Here they can attend a type of tutoring session to catch up on missed assignments, listening to prerecorded classes over a loudspeaker. Maharashtra was particularly hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
Image: Reuters/P. Waydande
Congo: No class without temperature check
Authorities in Lingwala, a well-heeled suburb in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, are taking the threat of coronavirus infections among students extremely seriously. Every student attending the suburb's Reverend Kim School is required to have his or her temperature taken before being allowed to enter the building. Face masks are also mandatory.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Mpiana
United States: Lessons in the world's hot spot
Schools in the US are also doing daily temperature checks to detect potential COVID-19 cases. Such measures are urgently needed in the country, which continues to see some of the world's highest infection rates. On August 13, Johns Hopkins University reported that more people had died within the past 24 hours than at any point since late May.
Image: picture-alliance/Newscom/P. C. James
Brazil: Gloves and a hug
Maura Silva (left) is a teacher at a public school in western Rio de Janeiro, near one of the city's largest slums. She makes an effort to visit her students at home, and brings along her "hug kit." Before taking them in her arms, Silva and her students put on masks and she helps them to put on plastic gloves.
