The People’s Committee of Hanoi has decided to give students in the Vietnam’s capital city another week off by extending their school break through February 23, 2020 in a bid to prevent the possible spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).
All kindergarteners and school students in Hanoi have stayed home since the Lunar New Year holiday, which began in late January.
Their back-to-school day had been initially scheduled for February 3 but was delayed twice to February 17 due to the coronavirus epidemic. This is the third time the school break has been extended in less than a month.
In Ho Chi Minh city, the People’s Committee of Vietnam largest city on Friday afternoon has approved that schools will remain closed until February 29, 2020. A Vietnamese newspaper, the VNExpress reports.
Meanwhile, around two dozen other provinces and cities in Vietnam have announced their schools will reopen next week, from February 17, 2020.
For colleges, several have decided to let students take a break until month-end.
The novel coronavirus, which first surfaced in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, has killed 1,486 people and infected more than 62,000 globally as of Friday, February 14, according to the South China Morning Post.
Vietnam reports 16 infection cases, seven have been discharged from hospitals.
Featured image: Students wear face masks when joining their class in Hanoi, January 31, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh.