More HCMC schools closed after students meet with Covid-19 patients

Over 100,000 university students in HCMC have been asked to stay home while many other schools are stepping up efforts to deal with new local Covid-19 transmissions.

The move came after several students came in contact with an English teacher confirmed Monday as « patient 1347, » who contracted the virus from his friend, a flight attendant of Vietnam Airlines who violated quarantine rules during his home-isolation period that resulted in the fresh Covid-19 outbreak.

Over 14,000 students at the HCMC University of Education and its High School of Education Practice in District 5 have been asked to stay home and switch to online learning.

Master Nguyen Ngoc Trung from the university said one student attending the teacher’s class at the Key English language center in District 10 had been taken to a centralized quarantine facility and had at first tested negative for the novel coronavirus. Those studying in the same class with the student at the university were asked to quarantine at home from Tuesday.

The University of Science under Vietnam National University-HCMC shut down its dormitory on Tran Hung Dao Street in District 1 after two of its students had studied with the infected teacher.

The university also temporarily suspended crowded events and unnecessary meetings.

Over 20,000 students of Ton Duc Thang University in District 7 were forced to stay home from Tuesday night after one of its student had studied with the infected teacher before frequenting several areas across the school. All learning activities have been temporarily suspended to prevent the virus from spreading.

The University of Finance and Marketing in District 7, close to Ton Duc Thang, also allowed its 20,000 students to stay home until at least Saturday.

Also on Wednesday, the University of Foreign Languages – Information Technology (Huflit) allowed more than 10,000 students to skip class until this weekend as the school is quite close to a coffee shop, a karaoke parlor and an English center the infected teacher had previously visited.

Hutech University in Binh Thanh District allowed more than 30,000 students to stay home until this weekend and switch to online learning after the flight attendant visited the facility to join a class in the morning and afternoon of November 22. Two lecturers and 25 students who came in close contact with him have entered centralized quarantine.

Other universities and high schools in HCMC have sped up efforts to cope with fresh Covid-19 community transmissions and conduct contact tracing of teachers and students.

At Nguyen Du High School in District 10, which stands close to places visited by the teacher patient, the administration board plans to switch to online learning if the situation turns complicated.

Many schools across Vietnam had adopted online learning earlier this year when an outbreak forced thousands of students to stay home for months after the Lunar New Year break.

Vietnam had gone nearly three months without local transmission before the English teacher was confirmed infected on Monday. The teacher then spread the virus to a nephew and a student of his.

Vietnam has recorded 1,351 cases so far, including 35 deaths.

By Manh Tung – VnExpress.net – December 2, 2020