Hanoi , HCMC Schools Close For Second Week
Schools in Hanoi, HCMC and more than 20 other provinces will remain shut for at least another week due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19. Students will not return to class until February 23 at the earliest.
Students were supposed to return to school tomorrow (Monday, February 17) following an extended Tet holiday due to the COVID-19 outbreak. However, the Departments of Education in 22 cities and provinces, including Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, have decided to close all schools for a second week at least to help avoid the further spread of the virus.
As reported in VnExpress, deputy prime minister Vu Duc Dam told a government meeting on February 14: "Safety should be guaranteed both in terms of professional perspective and in the minds of students and parents.
"Students should not be sent back to school if there are still worries of getting infected and worries over whether they should wear a mask in class or not."
Many schools in provinces such as Da Nang, where there no reported cases of CIVID-19, have decided to reopen schools tomorrow (Monday).
There have been nearly 6,000 confirmed cases of the respiratory illness worldwide since the outbreak began in Wuhan, China last December; at least 250 people have died. There are 16 confirmed cases of the virus in Vietnam to date.
