After two full school years of avoiding the COVID-19 virus, it is time for full face-to-face classes for close to half of the 28 million plus students enrolled in schools nationwide this school year.

The opening day was not without its usual anxiety of children separating from their parents to attend school. But this time around, parents' anxiety was further heightened by all the health threats the young ones have to face with the virus still hanging like the sword of Damocles.

Schools are far from being removed from all the threat surrounding the virus as they made sure all precautions were taken -- from health checks, to proper hygiene and all the warning signs posted around the campus.

But the sheer volume that came out today for the opening day made social distancing virtually impossible. In fact, neither parents, students nor teachers had no choice at the end of the day but to meet the challenge, face to face.

Students attend the first day of face-to-face classes after more than two years of COVID-19 lockdowns at Pedro Guevara Elementary School in Manila. Maria Tan, AFP

A mother takes a photo of her children before entering school grounds during the opening of classes at a school in Quezon City. Ted Aljibe, AFP

A parent does a last-minute check before sending her daughter to school at the Payatas B Elementary School in Quezon City on the first day of face-to-face classes in all levels. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

Parents send off their anxious children to school on the first day of face-to-face classes at the Payatas B Elementary School in Quezon City. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

Teachers guide students wearing protective masks as a precaution against the spread of COVID-19 as they enter a school on the first day of reopening of classes at Tomas Morato Elementary School in Quezon City. Basilo H. Sepe, ABS-CBN News

Teachers assist students at the Aurora A. Quezon Elementary School in Manila on the first day of classes. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News

A student cries as teachers gather students at the Aurora A. Quezon Elementary School in Manila on the first day of classes. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News

A woman comforts her son at the Aurora A. Quezon Elementary School in Manila on the first day of classes. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News

Students pass through a health check to enter at the Aurora A. Quezon Elementary School in Manila on the first day of classes. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News

Elementary pupils get their hands sprayed with alcohol before entering the classroom at San Juan Elementary School in San Juan City. Jire Carreon, ABS-CBN News

Students from the Manuel Araullo High School in Manila undergo body temperature check before entering the campus on the first day of the school. ABS-CBN News

A teacher scans the temperature of students assembled on the school grounds at San Juan Elementary School in San Juan City during a flag raising ceremony. Jire Carreon, ABS-CBN News

Students wearing masks recite the Panatang Makabayan at the Aurora A. Quezon Elementary School in Manila on the first day of classes. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News

Students line up to wash their hands at a common washing area with reminders on proper hand-washing at the Aurora A. Quezon Elementary School in Manila. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News

Students wash their hands at a common washing area at the Payatas B Elementary School in Quezon City. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

Students wear masks inside the classroom at the Payatas B Elementary School in Quezon City. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

A teacher leads a class in a physical exercise at the Payatas B Elementary School in Quezon City on the first day of face-to-face classes. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

Students participate in class at the Payatas B Elementary School in Quezon City on the first day of face-to-face classes after a two-year hiatus because of the pandemic. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

A student recites in front of the class on the first day of face-to-face classes after more than two years at the Payatas B Elementary School in Quezon City. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

Signs inside the class and around the campus remind students of proper health precautions and physical distancing at San Juan Elementary School in San Juan City. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News

A sign welcomes the students back after a two-year absence of face-to-face classes at San Juan Elementary School in San Juan City. Jire Carreon, ABS-CBN News

A sign on the door welcomes the students back to class after a two-year absence at Papaya Elementary School in Nasugbu Batangas. Domcar C. Lagto, ABS-CBN News

Students in masks attend face-to-face classes as the school year begins at Kanaynayan Community School, an Aeta village in Castillejos, Zambales. Jun Dumaguing, ABS-CBN News

Elementary school children, accompanied by their parents, get their booster shots at the San Juan Elementary school in San Juan City at the start of face-to-face classes this school year. Jire Carreon, ABS-CBN News

Police officers distribute free face masks to students at the San Juan Elementary School in San Juan City. Rolex Dela Pena, EPA-EFE

Students gather to pray on the first day of the reopening of classes at the Tomas Morato Elementary School in Quezon City. Basilio H. Sepe, ABS-CBN News

Parents and guardians call their wards at the end of first day of face-to-face classes the Aurora A. Quezon Elementary School. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News

Parents and guardians crowd around the exit of the Payatas B Elementary School in Quezon City to pick up their wards at the end of first day of face-to-face classes. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

Parents and guardians wait for their wards to be dismissed at the end of first day of face-to-face classes at the Payatas B Elementary School in Quezon City. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

Parents and guardians gather outside the gates of the Tomas Morato Elementary School as they wait for the dismissal on the first day of classes after more than two-years without face-to-face classes because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Basilio H. Sepe, ABS-CBN News