District shuts down 19 schools following Covid outbreaks

Since Monday morning, Vinh Loc District’s Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control has allowed over 8,000 students from 19 schools, including kindergartens, primary, secondary and high schools, to suspend in-person classes, according to the local Department of Education and Training.

Teachers and school staff must now clean up, perform disease prevention measures and instruct students to study at home until further notice, according to the department.

The decision was made after the district detected five new Covid-19 cases, all students. Previously, 21 students at Vinh Loc High School and Vinh Phuc Secondary School were infected with the coronavirus.

One 10th grader in Vinh Loc High School was found to have made contact with, besides their family, around 34 classmates and 12 teachers in the past 14 days before being confirmed infected Friday.

At least 2,000 people have made contact with the students, medical authorities stated. So far, 21 cases have been infected, mostly fellow students and family members.

Since late April, Thanh Hoa has recorded around 3,000 Covid-19 cases and 12 deaths. Around 2.9 million Covid-19 vaccine shots have been given in the province.

Local children aged 15-17 have also begun to be vaccinated starting late November with Pfizer. But several have experienced side effects, though none were severe, according to the provincial Center for Disease Control.

Thanh Hoa is one of a few localities in Vietnam to have opened schools amid the pandemic. Hanoi reopened several high schools from Monday while HCMC has only resumed in-person classes in its island district Can Gio.