COVID-19: Schools in Vietnam reopen

Hanoi (Vietnam), May 4 (AP) Students across Vietnam started returning to classrooms on Monday after being closed for three months to curb the spread of COVID-19.

"I am so excited to go back to school, to be with my teachers and my classmates after three months," said Chu Quang Anh, a sixth-grade student at Dinh Cong secondary school in Hanoi, the capital.

The schools require masks among measures to minimize the risk of outbreaks.

"It is very important to apply preventive measures during this time. We have hand sanitizers available in many places. The students are scanned for temperature at the gate when they enter the school and when they are in the classrooms and their health is recorded," teacher Dinh Bich Hien said.

Vietnam has confirmed 271 cases of COVID-19. It has not reported a new case in the community for nearly three weeks.

All educational institutions were closed at the beginning of February when the first infections of the new coronavirus were reported in the country. All teaching activities were moved online.

Last month, the country imposed travel restrictions and closed businesses for three weeks to contain the spread of the virus. (AP) SCYSCY