75. Faculty/Staff Coronavirus Update: Monitoring situation as a result of recent COVID outbreak

Dear Faculty and Staff,

I hope you had a relaxing long weekend and are ready to continue the wonderful and inspiring work you do, as we head into this final stretch of the school year. As of today, only twenty-seven school days remain for our students.

As you may have read, schools in Hanoi have been mandated to close their campuses as a result of the recent COVID outbreaks. At this time, there is no plan to close schools in Ho Chi Minh City.

If SSIS receives notice of mandatory campus closure, we are committed to providing one working day of transition to Virtual School. The virtual school work from home conditions will apply to faculty parents needing to work from home.

All faculty and staff who travelled this weekend have completed the travel survey, thank you. None of us have visited the seven places of concern. At this time, parents and students are also completing the questionnaire.

Yesterday, the HCMC People’s Committee issued Decree No. 1345/UBND-VX which suspended cultural and entertainment including music performances with a large gathering.  Therefore, attendance at concerts or other performances will be limited to students until further notice.

Responses to questions that have arisen:

1. There is no change to our mask protocols at this time. Masks are optional on campus. Masks are required outside campus as per government directive.
2. Schools in HaNoi, despite general school closures, are allowed to continue administering the international external exams (IB, AP, etc).
3. Swim meets and other athletics activities will continue as planned.
4. Guidelines on maximum capacity in gathering spaces will be followed.

We are carefully monitoring the situation around the country, particularly in HCMC, and we will continue to provide you with timely and transparent updates. Please do not hesitate to contact WaiMun, Lisa, or me if you have any questions or concerns.

I appreciate all that you do for our students and our community. Thank you.

All best wishes,

Catriona