After the Nam Thanh Cong primary school was affirmed as the third school in Hanoi having A/H1N1-infected patients on August 6th, the Hanoi Department of Education and Training asked all schools to close as of August 7th.

The Hanoi Deaprtment of Education and Training made the decision last evening so many parents didn’t know about it. They still took their children to school this morning.

The department’s office chief Nguyen Hiep Thong said this decision aims to ensure the health and safety for students beginning their academic-year on August 17^th. Schools will only re-open when they are permitted by the Education and Training Department.

Exceptionally, some high schools that planed to hold vocational contests on August 14 are allowed to proceed in spite of this plan.

The department asked schools to keep in contact with parents to know the health conditions of the students and report cases to the department if necessary. The three schools that have had A/H1N1 cases must cooperate with local health agencies to stamp out the disease.

Of the three schools with swine flu, Nam Thanh Cong primary school has only a patient in the second-grade that is infected, while Doan Thi Diem school and Lomonosov high school have both students and people related to the students who have caught the flu.

By August 6, Vietnam had over 1000 A/H1N1 cases.

PV