Secondary and high school students in Hanoi are expected to return to school from April 5, depending on the current Covid-19 situation, Kinhtedothi.vn reported.

At a meeting on Monday, Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung asked the municipal Department of Education and Training to submit the school reopening plan for consideration.

Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung speaks at the meeting. Photo: Kinhtedothi.vn

"All universities, colleges, vocational schools, high schools and junior high schools will be reopened after April, the resumption of kindergartens and elementary schools will be decided on April 29," Chung said.

He requested relevant units to prepare for students’ return to school, including making antiseptic solution and electronic thermometers available, training teachers on handling cases of students with Covid-19 symptoms.

Director of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training Chu Xuan Dung said his department is working with the Department of Health to release safety guidelines for students once classes are resumed.

Besides, Dung requested educational institutions to ensure sufficient medical equipment to prevent the pandemic.

In the 2019-2020 school year, more than 22 million Vietnamese students had been scheduled to return to school on February 3 following the Lunar New Year holiday, but the Covid-19 epidemic has caused prolonged school closures nationwide.

The Ministry of Education and Training had to twice revise the school year calendar. The end of the school year is delayed until July 15, one and a half months later than usual.

Vietnam’s Covid-19 caseload has stood at 270, with 222 having fully recovered and no deaths reported.

Hanoi has 112 active Covid-19 patients, of them 84 have been treated and discharged from hospital.