72. Coronavirus Update | People’s Committee HCMC Extends Campus Closure for Students Until Feb. 28

Dear Faculty and Staff,

Today, the People’s Committee of HCMC issued directive 505/UBND-VX instructing all schools in Ho Chi Minh City to keep their campuses closed to students until February 28 and to continue online learning, “ensuring that there is no disruption in the school plan for cohort 2020 – 2021.”

Thus, students will not return to campus on Wednesday, February 17, as we had hoped. However, learning will recommence as planned, and teachers will deliver the curriculum through Virtual School to students.

During this time, faculty and staff are expected to report to school. If you have exceptional circumstances that merit the need to work from home, please review Wai Mun’s email from February 8 on how we can support you. Please remember that if you are sick, you must stay away from campus and notify Lisa.

Also, please be reminded that you must submit a Travel Questionnaire if you traveled outside of Ho Chi Minh City during the Tet break. By law, we are required to provide this information to the Department of Education and Training (Directive 424) by February 17. If you have any questions related to travel, health declaration, etc., please contact Lisa.

We will remain in contact with the Vietnamese Department of Education and Training and  International SOS and inform you of any updates as we have them. However, I strongly encourage you to leave school each day with the materials you would need to teach from home the following day, should faculty suddenly also be prohibited from being on campus.

Although I know that we all looked forward to returning to a campus full of students, I want to commend you on the excellent start of Virtual School before the break. The feedback from parents and students alike was extremely positive. I know that you are again poised to offer the high-quality program that our students and community value, and I appreciate your dedication in doing so.

Finally, on this Valentine’s Day 2021, take a minute to enjoy Jan’s (Class of ‘21) song, “Will You Quarantine With Me?” which he recorded last February. Wherever your loved ones are today, I hope you enjoy quality conversations and interactions with them.

All good wishes,
Catriona