HCMC – Tens of millions of students from kindergarten to high school in 63 localities nationwide have returned to school this morning, May 4, after taking a three-month break as part of efforts to slow the spread of Covid-19, which is linked to the new coronavirus.
Specifically, schools in 18 provinces and cities are allowed to reopen from today. Over 30 other localities have allowed their secondary and high school students to return to school since the end of April and today permitted nurseries and primary schools to resume regular operations.
Meanwhile, preschool and primary school students in some 10 other localities, including the two major cities of Hanoi and HCMC, will gather at school later.
Hygiene measures have been adopted in schools across the nation, including handwashing, disinfection and body temperature checks.
In HCMC, over 150,000 ninth and 12th graders at nearly 500 junior and senior high schools have started attending school today after a prolonged break due to Covid-19. During the recent four-day holiday, schools in the city cleaned and disinfected classrooms and other facilities ahead of the students’ return.
They also prepared free face masks for students and set up additional handwashing sinks. Many schools rearranged chairs and tables in classrooms to ensure safe physical distancing among students is maintained. Some schools even had to split classes into smaller groups.
In Hanoi, roughly 700,000 students of junior and senior high schools are due to return to school from today. Schools in the capital city were also disinfected during the holiday. Many schools planned to organize learning and teaching activities in a staggered manner.
Earlier, students nationwide had to take classes online during the three-month Covid-19 break. School authorities were required to concurrently adopt precautionary measures for Covid-19 and organize learning and teaching activities to complete the country’s revised curriculum before July 15.
