The Vietnamese government has not decided to let students go back to school on March 2 due to the Covid-19 epidemic, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said at a meeting on February 24.

Vietnam has taken comprehensive, drastic and thorough measures to prevent and control the Covid-19, Phuc said.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at the meeting. Photo: Zing

However, the PM stressed that the Covid -19 evolution is still complicated. Besides China, the epidemic has broken out in countries with extensive trade and investment relations with Vietnam such as Japan and South Korea.

Therefore, the PM suggested that there should be more specific measures to protect people's lives and health.

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen said the risk of infection among students is very low because the disease has not yet broken out in the community.

The education and training sector has been proactively instructing the application of preventive safety measures, Tuyen said, adding that extending the holiday will lead to confusion among parents while the epidemic may last longer, the deputy minister said.

For his part, Minister of Education and Training Phung Xuan Nha said that his ministry has collaborated with the Ministry of Health and localities to disinfect classrooms and strictly implement measures to prevent and control the Covid-19.

Along with that, the education ministry has extended the academic year time frame for the 2019-2020 school year.

"The epidemic is very complicated, but students cannot wait until it finishes to go back to school," Nha said.

However, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc emphasized that the government must assess the epidemic evolution before making a decision on classes resumption.

"Careful consideration must be made to ensure safety of students," the PM said.