The Vietnamese capital of Hanoi on Monday made a last-minute change to the previously announced plan regarding high school reopening as many Covid-19 community transmissions have been detected in the last few days, making it risky for students.
Under the new direction by Hanoi’s Department of Education and Training, only 12th graders will return to schools from Monday, with 50 per cent having in-person classes Monday, Wednesday and Friday and the rest having them on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, reports Xinhua news agency.
In an earlier plan announced on December 3 which has been cancelled, the city allowed all high schools in low-risk areas hosting students from grade 10 to 12 to reopen from Monday after seven months of shutdowns.
Students from other grades will still have to learn online and kindergartens remain closed, except for ninth graders in suburban districts with low Covid-19 risk who were allowed to come back to schools since November.
Hanoi has recorded some 450 cases of in the community each day on average in the past week, with the figures continuously breaking all-time records, according to the municipal centre for disease control.
The capital city has about 3,000 schools with more than 2 million students across 30 districts and one township, according to local media Vietnam News.
Hanoi is stepping up vaccination for children aged 12-17 to get them back to school.
