Hanoi school children return to offline classes

On Sunday, the city administration approved a proposal by district authorities to have more than 500,000 first to sixth grade students (aged 6-12) in 18 outlying districts stay at home and study online starting Monday until further notice.

Tran The Cuong, director of the municipal Education Department, said Sunday morning that 15 suburban districts had made the proposal to ensure safety for children in the age group because they were yet to be vaccinated.

Vietnam has not begun vaccinating children under 12 against Covid-19.

Hanoi has led the nation in the number of daily infections since late last year. The city now has 74 wards and communes deemed at high Covid-19 risk.

The number of daily cases in the city crossed 10,000 on Saturday and 11,000 on Sunday.

According to the department, since students were allowed back to school on Feb. 10, the number of children who have tested positive for the virus has accounted for 10 percent of the total infections in the city, or more than 17,300 cases.

Of these, almost 600 have had to be hospitalized for treatment.

In the past week, the number of students attending in-person classes dropped from 90 to 75 percent at primary schools and high schools, 77 percent at secondary schools and 79 percent in elementary schools in the outskirts.

The main reason for the drop was that many students and teachers had contracted Covid-19, requiring the entire class to stay at home and study online.

Hanoi allowed seventh to twelfth grade students in 18 districts to resume in-person classes on Feb. 8; and first to sixth grade students two days later.

However, first to sixth grade students in central districts have had to continue to study online.

As of Saturday, the capital has recorded more than 259,302 Covid cases since last April, when the fourth coronavirus wave surfaced.