Of the figure, over 490 are primary school students, 580 are junior high school students and the remainder are students of senior high and vocational schools. 

The districts of Binh Thanh, Binh Tan, Hoc Mon and 8 make up the largest number of the orphaned students. 

Over 1,500 students in HCM City orphaned because of Covid-19 (Photo: Thanh Tung)

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, the Covid-19 epidemic has caused serious consequences, directly affecting the lives and health of people, including teachers and students in the city. According to the latest statistics, 10,073 students and 3,386 teachers at schools are infected with the virus and 1,517 students at schools became orphans due to the Covid-19 epidemic.

The pandemic has also seriously affected the education sector. At the educational institutions managed under the Department of Education and Training alone, the number of people who lost their jobs or their labor contracts temporarily terminated was 1,046 people.

As of September 11, the total number of teachers, employees and workers in the city's education and training sector who lost their jobs was 12,341 people. The most affected are employees at preschools with 10,129 people (accounting for 82.08%) having their labor contracts canceled or terminated.

Currently, 1,253 school facilities have been requisitioned as quarantine, vaccination sites or medical stations...

According to incomplete statistics, 14,312 officials, teachers and employees in the city's education sector are participating in prevention and control of the Covid-19 epidemic.

According to the HCM City Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, each orphaned child who is younger than four will receive VND900,000 per month, while orphaned children that are four years old or older will receive VND540,000 per month each.

They are also entitled to a tuition fee reduction until 16 and other social incentives until 22. 

Children who have Covid-19 will receive VND1 million each. They are also entitled to free treatment and VND80,000 per day to cover their meals during the treatment and quarantine.

The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs earlier decided to give an allowance of VND1 million to each child born between April 27 and December 31 whose mother had Covid-19. Those children orphaned by Covid-19 would receive VND2 million each.

The funding comes from the National Fund for Vietnamese Children. 

Minh Anh

Health ministry focuses on reducing treatment workload and minimising deaths

Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long yesterday emphasised the strategy of reducing treatment workload and minimising deaths from COVID-19 at an online training conference on management, treatment and care of COVID-19 patients and safe vaccination.