Tokyo (VNA) - No Vietnamese students in Japan have been infected with the novelcoronavirus SARS-CoV-2, said an official from the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan.
Talking to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)’s reporters in Japan, Vu Thi LienHuong, who is in charge of the education division in the embassy, said almostall Vietnamese students have been aware of the danger of COVID-19, and strictlyimplemented countermeasures, as well as recommendations from the VietnameseMinistry of Education and Training to effectively prevent the epidemic and protecttheir health.
The division has maintained a hotline to receive information and answerquestions related to the Vietnamese government’s policies for students.
According to Huong, students who studying in Japan under the Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship byJapanese Grant Aid (JDS)were requested to avoid traveling to epidemic-hit areas and not bewildered orbelieve in false rumors.
Vietnamese students often share relevant information and update health statusvia social networks, Huong said, adding that the COVID-19 epidemic has so farnot seriously affected Vietnamese students in the country.
According to statistics of the Immigration Services Agency (ISA) under the JapaneseMinistry of Justice, the total number of Vietnamese students in the countryreached 82,266 by December 2019.
In a related move, from March 19, foreign apprentices in Japan are allowed toextend their stay in Japan up to four months if they cannot take the skill examto extend their visas because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Previously, the Japanese government allowed foreign apprentices to continue tostay in the country in case their visas have expired and they could not returnhome due to the disease.
The representative office of Vietnam Airlines in Tokyo said the national flagcarrier will suspend flights between Vietnam and Japan from March 23 until theend of April.
Meanwhile, Minister-Counsellor atthe Vietnamese Embassy in Russia Nguyen Quynh Mai said the embassyhas been taking many measures to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 in theVietnamese community in the country.
The embassy has used all information channels of the Vietnamese community todirectly provide relevant information for Vietnamese expats living, working andstudying in Russia, she stressed.
A disease response task division was established to give advises to theagency’s officials on necessary measures to cope with the disease, Mai added./.