A worker fumigates a classroom of the Trung Vuong Secondary School in Hanoi's Hoan Kiem district (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) - Localofficials in HCM City and Hanoi announced on February 14 that schools will remainshut for at least another week due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19.
The move means schools,universities and colleges in the country's two biggest cities will have beenshut for a full three weeks after the end of the Lunar New Year holiday.
As of February 14, 41 provinces and cities hadplanned to reopen on February 17 following the Ministry of Education andTraining’s statement that provinces and cities where COVID-19 has not appearedcould open after two weeks off.
Schools are required to havechairs, desks, classrooms and their campus disinfected and cleaned.
Speaking at a meeting of theNational Steering Board for Prevention and Control of COVID-19 held on February14, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said that if parents and students werestill worried, provincial and city authorities should keep schools closed.
The Deputy PM said that despiteproblems posed by the closure, the health and security of the people were themost important.
On February 11, Dam told theMinistry of Education and Training to quickly issue detailed guidance formanagers of relevant agencies as well as teachers, students and parents on howto ensure safety when students return to school.
Schools should carry outpreventive measures to ensure that their classrooms are safe and increasecommunications with parents to lessen their anxiety about the reopening ofschools.
Most universities throughoutthe country were still closed as of February 14 afternoon. Several of them havedelayed their examinations.
A team led by Deputy Ministerof Education and Training Nguyen Van Phuc has checked the prevention andcontrol measures for COVID-19 at several universities.
Minister of Education and Training PhungXuan Nha on February 14 affirmed that the 2019-2020 academic year will endlater amid the outbreak of COVID-19.
Several localities have decided thatstudents will return to schools on February 17 after two weeks of shutdown, hesaid, adding that classes should resume once safety measures are adopted asguided by the Health Ministry./.
