Authorities in Da Nang on Wednesday decided to postpone the back-to-school day of all K-12 students for 15 days over concerns about the complicated developments of COVID-19, while preparing for the organization of a child vaccination campaign next week. 

Da Nang deputy chairwoman Ngo Thi Kim Yen announced the decision at a municipal meeting on COVID-19 prevention and control on Wednesday afternoon.

Yen emphasized that many localities across Vietnam still see high risk of COVID-19, with many transmissions recorded among students going to school.

Meanwhile, Da Nang is receiving many returnees, including students, teachers, and workers, from other provinces and cities.

Although city authorities have been implementing various pandemic control measures, according to Yen, it remains hard for functional forces to thoroughly detect the risks of a virus flare-up.

Another reason for the delay is to spare time for the implementation of a COVID-19 vaccination drive on children aged 12 to 17 as per a policy of the Ministry of Health.

“Next week, the city will organize injections for local children,” Yen said on Wednesday. 

“Therefore, the date of the face-to-face learning resumption will be pushed back to November 15, instead of November 1 as earlier planned.”

While most schools in Da Nang have been shuttered since May 4 for COVID-19 prevention and control, students of Hoa Bac Elementary School and Nguyen Tri Phuong Middle School in Hoa Vang District resumed offline learning on October 20, followed by 12th graders of Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted on October 25.

The central coastal city has documented 4,959 COVID-19 community cases since the fourth coronavirus wave hit Vietnam on April 27.

Health workers have given the first doses of vaccine to nearly 97 percent of the city’s adult population, according to the national COVID-19 vaccination portal.

Vietnam has found 900,585 infections since the COVID-19 pandemic first hit it early last year and 895,793 community transmissions in 62 out of its 63 provinces and cities since the fourth virus wave erupted.

More than 22.2 million people in the Southeast Asian country have been fully inoculated.

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