Cleaning and sterilising a classroom at Trương Định High School in Hà Nội last week. Schools in Hà Nội finished a second round of sterilisation on Sunday to prevent the spread of coronavirus. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Tùng

HÀ NỘI — Provinces and cities which have not recorded any cases of novel coronavirus will be able to reopen schools as long as they ensure hygienic conditions for students, according to the health ministry.

All schools in 63 localities nationwide were closed last week until further notice to prevent the spread of the deadly virus.

The health ministry on Sunday said schools could reopen if all classrooms are sterilised and schools are equipped with clean water and soap.

Students, parents and teachers must be instructed on how to prevent the virus spreading.

The health ministry has ordered the Ministry of Education and Training to ask schools to teach virus prevention as part of their curriculum.

Localities with confirmed nCoV patients must follow the developments of the outbreak and reopen schools only when classrooms are sterilised and there have been no further cases 14 days after the last patients were identified.

The Ministry of Education and Training has asked educational facilities nationwide to make careful preparations to welcome students back to school after the unexpected closure.

Việt Nam has so far confirmed 14 nCoV patients, including three in HCM City (one has been discharged from hospital); one in the south-central province of Khánh Hòa and one in central Thanh Hóa Province (discharged from hospital); nine from the northern province of Vĩnh Phúc treated at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hà Nội and healthcare facilities in Vĩnh Phúc.

Among those nine patients from Vĩnh Phúc, three were discharged from the Hospital of Tropical Diseases on Monday, raising the number of successfully-treated nCoV patients in Việt Nam to six.

In a related move, the health ministry has asked people’s committees of Quảng Ninh, Lạng Sơn, Cao Bằng, Hà Giang, Điện Biên, Lào Cai and Lai Châu provinces which share borders with China to conduct medical checks on drivers carrying goods.

According to the health ministry, drivers and deliverymen are allowed to ship the goods to border areas but not into China.

They have to wear protective clothes, wash their hands with soap or sanitiser and must have health checks at quarantine areas before returning.

Those who are not quarantined after health checks must monitor their health and report to local authorities in case of fever, coughing or shortness of breath.

Drivers and deliverymen from China must take hygienic measures and are allowed to carry goods to the border gates only and not enter Việt Nam. — VNS