As of Sunday evening [February 2], many cities and provinces across Vietnam have announced the closure of schools for a week starting from February 3 on fears of the possible widespread outbreak of respiratory illness caused by the Wuhan coronavirus (nCoV).

Closing schools to protect schoolchildren

The localities include big cities namely Hanoi, Haiphong, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, and Can Tho.

According to the Thanh Nien newspaper, 23 out of 63 cities and provinces in the country have announced school closure. More localities are expected to follow suit.

The decision was made two days after Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc declare the national epidemic of the nCoV.

Before the decision on closing schools, many localities have sterilized schools to curb the spread of the disease.

Closing schools is among measures that Vietnam has taken so far to cope with the epidemic after the country detected the first cases on January 23.

Some days ago, the government set up an epidemic prevention working group with members being senior officials, and 45 quick response teams at hospitals which are equipped with modern facilities and comprised of experienced doctors.

The country has stopped issuing visas to Chinese tourists and suspended a number of flights to and from China while enhancing monitoring at border gates.

Notably, the government has also set up the National Steering Committee on Epidemic Prevention and Control to control the nCoV spread.