Addressing the meeting, Deputy PM Dam highlighted the importance of letting children go back to schools as well as the continual of the vaccination plan for children between five and under 12 years old.

Dam requested the Ministry of Health to soon issue guidance on COVID-19 testing at school and for health monitoring of children with illnesses or underlying health conditions.

He ordered the Ministry of Education and Training to further organise and complete online and television teaching methods as part of the educational reform programme instead of just implementing it during the pandemic.

According to the Ministry of Education and Training, from February 7 to date, nearly 94 percent of the students nationwide have returned to face-to-face classes. All universities have already had plans for the resumption of in-person classes.

Meanwhile, deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son said the entire nation logged some 329,000 COVID-19 cases from February 1 to 15, of whom 8.6 percent and 4.8 percent are aged 5-18 and under five./.

VNA