At a meeting of the national steering committee for prevention and control of the disease on February 14, Deputy PM Dam, who is also head of the committee, said he previously ordered the education ministry to pen detailed instructions on prevention measures for schools, teachers, parents and students.
Every corner at schools must be safe for students, he said, adding local authorities and schools were requested to enhance communication work to raise public awareness of the disease.
Students’ health and safety remain the first priority, therefore, if schools resume teaching, they must assure the safest possible environment for the students, Dam said.
Besides, it is important to make parents believe that their children are safe from coronavirus while attending schools, he said.
Deputy PM Dam also stressed that as special attention must be paid to public consensus, ministries, sectors and localities must carefully consider the resumption of classes, while continuing the prevention and control of the disease.
Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Huu Do stated that schools are ready to welcome back students after two weeks off.
According to him, measures have been taken to sterilise classrooms, learning tools and furniture, and courses on preventive measures organised for school staff.
To ensure absolute safety for students, Do suggested schools collect ideas of students’ families to reach high consensus.
According to the MoET, as of 20:30 on February 13, 16 cities and provinces nationwide decided to let their students return to schools on February 17. Those include Ca Mau, Dong Nai, Soc Trang, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Tay Ninh, Hau Giang, Binh Phuoc, Can Tho, Ha Nam, Da Nang, Yen Bai, Ha Tinh, Thai Nguyen, Lang Son and Dong Nai.
Meanwhile, students in northern Vinh Phuc province, where 11 out of 16 COVID-19 infection cases in the country have been confirmed to date, will stay at home until February 22.
Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long required localities nationwide to strictly take quarantine measures against suspected cases and those returning from disease-hit areas or contacting with patients, in effort to control the spreading of the outbreak.
Long said relevant authorities are expanding quarantine for cases that are easy to catch the disease.
