HCMC – Nearly 100,000 students of universities across HCMC have been asked to stay home to ensure their safety after the city announced that a Vietnam Airlines flight attendant (the 1,342nd patient), a student of English, and a teacher of English (the 1,347th patient) in the city got infected with Covid-19.
Specifically, all 30,000 students of the HCMC University of Technology (HUTECH) will take five days off from December 2 to 6. The school reopening date will be decided following instructions from the municipal Center for Disease Control, the local media reported.
HUTECH vice president Nguyen Quoc Anh said on November 22 that the 1,342nd patient, a first-year student majoring in the English language in the school’s distance education course, came to the school. He also practiced phonics with lecturers after school.
On December 1, two lecturers of the university were placed under quarantine, while as many as 25 students have been quarantined. The school was sprayed with disinfectants on December 2.
The University of Finance and Marketing has also announced to temporarily suspend teaching and learning activities on all its campuses. Accordingly, all postgraduates and students of all courses at all levels as well as lecturers of the university will stay home.
Moreover, the HCMC University of Foreign Languages and Information Technology (HUFLIT) on December 2 decided to allow more than 10,000 students to stay home from December 3 to 6.
HUFLIT President Nguyen Anh Tuan said the university is located near places that the 1,347th patient had visited, such as the ICOOL karaoke outlet on120 Thanh Thai Street, Highlands Coffee Van Hanh Mall at 11 Su Van Hanh Street and a campus of the Key English Center at 285/24 Cach Mang Thanh Tam Street, so its lecturers and students were worried.
If the situation becomes more complicated, all its teaching activities will be conducted online.
Meanwhile, Vo Van Tuan, vice president of Van Lang University, said a student of the university was in close contact with the 1,347th patient. The student went to the same gym as the patient for five days.
The student’s first Covid-19 test result was negative and the second test result is expected on December 3. The school will then decide whether to consider a temporary closure, Tuan added.
At Ton Duc Thang University, a student of the electricity-electronics faculty attended an English class taught by the 1,347th patient in District 10. The student has been placed under quarantine and had a sample taken for testing.
From November 24 to 28, the student attended four classes with 40-70 students each at the university and used staircases and elevators.
The university has decided that its teaching and learning activities at its Tan Phong campus in District 7 would be conducted online from December 2 to 6.
Additionally, the HCMC University of Pedagogy has also decided to ask its students to study online from December 2 to 13.
On December 2, Phung Quan, head of the information and communications of the University of Science of the Vietnam National University, HCMC, said the school would shut its dormitory at 135B Tran Hung Dao Street in District 1, which accommodates some 300 students, on December 2 and 3.
Two students at the dormitory were in close contact with the 1,347th patient. Also, 15 other students at the dormitory have been quarantined at the dormitory, while two others have been quarantined at their houses in Tan Binh District.
According to the HCMC University of Law, a student of the school did gymnastics at the same gym center with the 1,347th patient for two days. The student has undergone a Covid-19 test and is being quarantined in his rented room.
The University of Economics HCMC has also informed that a student of the university attended the same class as the 1,349th patient at the Key English Center at 285/24 Cach Mang Thang Tam Street. The student has been transported to a quarantine center.
Those who were in contact with the student have been instructed to quarantine themselves at home. The school has suspended outdoor activities to prevent gatherings and is applying the blended learning method.
