School keeping kids in plastic isolation pods in 'extreme' social distancing move

This school in Thailand has been criticised for its social distancing measures. Photo / Getty Images

A Thai school has taken drastic action to ensure its pupils don't contract coronavirus – making them attend class from the safety of a plastic pod.

In Thailand social distancing measures have started to relax, but the Wat Khlong Toey School in Bangkok has chosen to continue strict measures to keep kids and teachers coronavirus free.

Photos show a mix of young and teen students studying and playing with toys while completely encased in a square frame and clear plastic.

Their faces are adorned with masks and the pods are spaced at least 1.5m apart.

While the kids can see one another, they cannot physically touch or play together, showing what growing up in a socially distanced world looks like.

When sitting at their desks, the casing covers the front and sides but is open at the back.

Extra sinks have been installed along with soap dispensers and hand sanitiser so pupils can wash their hands easily.

There is also a temperature scanner at the entrance for when the children arrive.

The school recently reopened its doors to 250 students in July and so far have had no cases of the virus among pupils, proving that while today's classrooms look very different, the extreme method appears to be working.

Reaction to the move hasn't been met with praise though, with some expressing concern it was akin to locking "kids in a cage".

"This is so wrong. These poor children will grow up disturbed. Horrible times," one person wrote on Twitter.

The kids study and play from the safety of plastic pods. Photo / Getty Images

"That's so sad but unfortunately necessary if irresponsible governments insist on opening schools," another added.

One person said: "Wrong, so wrong."

In Australia, children have returned back to the classroom except for Victoria where students went back to remote learning as strict stage 3 and stage 4 lockdown rules have been enforced.

Schools that have students attending are following social distancing measures, but have faced issues implementing guidelines with young children.

In the classroom, the 4sq m rule does not need to be adhered to, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said back in April.

A primary school in China went viral earlier in the year for making kids wear hats with large wings to help them keep apart.

The one-metre handmade contraptions were designed to help the kids understand and observe social distancing – but looked pretty uncomfortable.

Every child's colourful design was different, with one child making hers from white balloons and another making hers to look like a tree trunk.