The break, decided by the municipal People's Committee, will commence about a week earlier than expected. As scheduled, students of the southern metropolis should have their Lunar New Year break from Feb. 8 to Feb. 16. Schools are advised to schedule online classes to ensure their students keep up with the curriculum.

HCMC currently has over 1.74 million students from kindergarten to high school levels, along with over 100,000 teachers and school employees. Thousands of university and college students across the city had already begun their Tet break last week.

The city confirmed its first coronavirus case linked with a hotspot in northern Hai Duong Province last Saturday, a 28-year-old man who participated in a wedding in Hai Duong. As of Monday morning, the city has confirmed 604 people entering it from areas experiencing Covid-19 outbreaks, of whom 556 have had their samples collected for Covid-19 testing, according to the HCMC Center for Disease Control (CDC).

As of Monday, 18 other Vietnam localities have allowed their students to begin their Tet break early.

Vietnam has officially recorded 1,819 Covid-19 cases so far, including 240 since Jan. 18 when the third wave of Covid-19 started. Infections have spread to nine localities: Hai Duong, Quang Ninh, Hanoi, Gia Lai, Bac Ninh, Hoa Binh, HCMC, Hai Phong and Binh Duong.