In the Time of Covid-19: VFIS Preparations for Reopening the School

Vietnam-Finland International School continues to implement prevention methods and strategies to ensure a safe and healthy environment for the students at the school in the coming days. 

The School's Steering Committee For Covid-19 Prevention and Control regularly sends surveys about the health and travel history of every student, parent, teacher, staff and guest. Everyone entering the school has their temperature taken and must wear a face mask. Washing hands with soap and water is a routine procedure and hand sanitiser is readily available. The School Medical Room is only used for handling minor injuries. Cases with symptoms similar to Covid-19 are handled in a separate quarantine room equipped for Covid-19 prevention. Each classroom is equipped with a sink, soap, paper towels and tissues. 

Various flexible solutions to avoid close physical contact are in place. These include: 

• More gates used for entry and exit with safe distances marked between the students.
• Marks and lines on the floor to keep a safe distance while moving around the school.
• With the advantage of a new school nearly 80 classrooms and only 200 students this school year, VFIS can relocate some classes to new units to avoid crowding. 
• Classrooms separated by movable walls are now merged into one to provide more space for students within the room. 
• Tables in the canteen are spaced at a safe distance.
• Food is provided on a private tray for each student. 
• Lunch will be served in the classroom for some classes. 
• A new recess schedule has been designed and the students will be playing in different designated areas to avoid physical contact. 
• Additional school buses will be in service to ensure that there will be around 50% empty seats for maintaining social distancing in each bus .
• The entire school, especially the locations that the students come for studying or other activities will continue to be disinfected periodically by robots designed and manufactured by TDTU. 

Talking about the preparation for welcoming students back to the school starting from May 8, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Huyen, Deputy Head of the School  said: “A sink in each classroom and many more at the canteen, the habit of washing hands often and using personal water bottles are huge advantages at VFIS in preventing the spread of viruses and bacteria. Furthermore, the School always follows strictly the rules and instructions  from the authorities on  prevention of Covid-19. With all of these precautions, we can confidently say that VFIS is ready to welcome our students back to the school.”