The Ministry of Health (MoH) has suggested that localities that are still free from the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (nCoV) can reopen schools after sterilization, VnExpress reported.

College campuses and schools must be cleansed and disinfected before the students return, said the MoH.

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Local health authorities need to instruct children, parents and teachers how to prevent nCoV infection in schools.

The MoH also asked the Ministry of Education and Training to include nCoV in teaching plans so that the students know how to prevent the disease.

For localities where nCoV-caused pneumonia patients are detected, the MoH suggested keeping monitoring the situation and allowing children to return to school only after disinfecting classrooms, ensuring that infected people are isolated for 14 days.

After Tet, almost all cities and provinces across Vietnam have decided to close schools from primary to university levels for two weeks, until February 16, in order to minimize the infection of the new coronavirus.

In the meantime, a number of schools have been disinfected.

During the forced school break, the Ministry of Education and Training asked teachers to teach online to ensure the progress of the training program.

"Based on the evolution of epidemic and weather conditions in each locality, the local government should decide whether students should go back to school or take a longer break," Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son told Tuoitre Online.

The Vietnamese government declared the nCoV an epidemic on February 1, since then many measures have been in place to deal with the situation.