The Hanoi People’s Committee has decided to let students in certain grades in the outskirt district of Ba Vi resume in-person classes next Monday, according to the latest document signed by Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Chu Xuan Dung on November 6.

Ba Vi is the only district which has not recorded any Covid-19 cases in the community in the past 14 days. Thus, the fifth, sixth, ninth, tenth, and 12th graders in low- and medium-risk areas in the district will be allowed to return to schools.

Students in other grades in the district, and all students in 29 other districts of Hanoi will stick to the online schooling. All kindergarteners will remain closed, the document said.

The decision was made as the evolution of the Covid-19 pandemic in Hanoi is more serious, as much more new Covid-19 cases have been detected in the community over the past few days.

The Hanoi People's Committee must change the plan for students coming back to school. Photo: Nam Du

Hanoi has continuously recorded a sharp increase in the number of Covid-19 cases, up to over 60 community cases per day, linked to the gathering of people in the districts of Quoc Oai, Me Linh, Gia Lam, Hoai Duc, Soc Son, Dong Anh, Thuong Tin, Bac Tu Liem, Hoang Mai, Dong Da, Ba Dinh and, most recently, Cau Giay District.

On November 6 alone, Hanoi recorded 116 cases and decided to impose restrictions on large gatherings like weddings, funerals, among others.

Moreover, the vaccination plan for children is still underway and has not finished yet. Therefore, it would be risky to allow students to return to school.

More than five months have gone after the municipal authorities ordered the shutdown of educational facilities for the pandemic prevention and control on May 4.

The Hanoi Department of Education and Training also issued a set of 16 criteria to assess the level of safety against Covid-19 at schools on October 29 and facilities that meet only seven or fewer criteria will have to close.

Besides, only teachers fully vaccinated against coronavirus will be eligible for face-to-face teaching, whereas others must continue running online classes, according to the local education authorities’ regulations.

Currently, 62% of administrative officers, teachers, and school staff in Hanoi have received two injections while more than 98% have got the first shots.

Hanoi authorities also plan to vaccinate over 95% of local children aged 12 to 17 in the remaining months of this year and the first quarter of 2022, with those from 16 to 17 years old getting the shots first.

The capital city, whose population is over eight million, has recorded nearly 4,900 local infections since the fourth coronavirus wave flared up in Vietnam on April 27.

Over six million people of the capital city have been administered with coronavirus vaccine, and nearly four million of them are fully vaccinated, according to the national Covid-19 vaccination portal.

Vietnam has vaccinated 60.3 million people with at least one Covid-19 vaccine shot. More than 28 million people of the 98 million population in the country have been fully inoculated against the coronavirus.