Covid-19 and Lockdown In Ho Chi Minh City.
Covid-19 has severely disrupted the way of life for everyone in Ho Chi Minh City. We have been in lockdown, in one form or another, for the last 4 months. However this may change shortly.
Ho Chi Minh City, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in Vietnam, is considering resuming economic activity on September 15, shifting from a “zero COVID-19” strategy to a policy of living with the virus.
Ho Chi Minh City has had 241,110 coronavirus infections and 9,974 deaths, accounting for half of the country’s cases and 80% of the deaths.
The vast majority of them have occurred in the last few months, putting an end to hopes that Vietnam could repeat its success from 2020, when intensive contact tracing and quarantining led to one of the best COVID-19 containment records in the world.
Updates.
On Friday, the Ministry of Health announced a daily increase of 14,922 coronavirus infections, bringing the total number of cases to 501,649, with 12,476 deaths.
According to a document sent out by the Government of Vietnam, the 9-million-strong city plans to reopen in stages and fully vaccinate its residents by the end of the year. Currently the only vaccine on offer is the Chinese vaccine and a lot of residents are concerned about it’s effectiveness.
To curb a spiraling number of deaths, Ho Chi Minh City sent military last month to impose its lockdown and prevent citizens from leaving their houses. Only 3% of Vietnam’s 98 million people have received all of their vaccinations.
The draft proposal stated that Vietnam’s largest city, a corporate hub surrounded by industrialized provinces, intends to “advance economic recovery, and move towards living with COVID-19.”
Schools in Ho Chi Minh City.
All public schools are currently closed. However some are teaching on line. How effective this will be remains to be seen, with some on line classes reaching 50 students at a time.
The specialty English schools which are normally open on the weekends and in the weekday evenings are also closed. There are a lot of these centers who have closed their doors and not paid the Teachers. Time will tell if the EFL ( English as a Foreign Language ) industry in Vietnam will recover quickly or slowly.
Ex-Pats and Teachers.
The remaining ex-pats and Teachers are in most part working on line if they can find students or an on line school. For some the pressure has been too much and I am personally aware of 2 suicides. Please remember to keep in close contact with friends or family during this time. You can also contact me if you need to talk.
Mandated Vaccine shots in America.
“Los Angeles officials could soon mandate vaccination against the coronavirus for students in the nation’s second-largest school district.” Source, The Washington Post.
Will this happen in Vietnam? I truly do not know, but would not be surprised as the parents now are very scared of this virus and the implications of sending their children to school.
A little bit of Bright News.
The British Government via it’s Kuala Lumpa office is asking for expressions of interest to develop English on line training packages. You can find out more information…. ==> HERE <==
“The British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur is inviting Expressions of Interest (EOI) for the development of an online English language training package for ASEAN organisation staff.” source UK Government website.
If you are new to teaching on line it is a good idea to get specialty training first.. Heather who I have known for over 15 years is providing discounted courses. For those who wish to join, to get the discount you will need to provide this reference number. SH8997.
Australian International TESOL – Ho Chi Minh City.
The following information will briefly provide you with some details about the Online Course with their SPECIAL OFFER.
A. Module 1: TESOL Online Certificate – Due before: 6 months from date of payment
Complete all below points with assistance of your online materials, soft copies of the manual plus exam preparation books, and through online Q&A sessions with AIT trainers.
1. Assignments
2. Theory exam
3. Design activities
4. Develop lesson plans
5. Record a teaching video (live demo – 15 minutes). You may seek out your trainer’s advice about this if needed.
After completion of Module 1, you will receive a digital AIT Online TESOL Course Certificate of Completion.
B. Trainer information
Mr. Adrian Rodgers – Senior TESOL Trainer
C. Upgrade to International TESOL Teacher License and the Associate TESOL Diploma (optional)
You are able to join our in-class course for extra hours of TESOL practicum and upgrade your certification to the International TESOL teacher license, plus completing Module 2 to receive the Associate TESOL Diploma (optional and free). Please contact our AIT team for more information.
D. Tuition fee
Special Offer for AIT Online TESOL course: $399 ($499)
Limited number of enrolments due to popular demand.
Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to let us know.
Kind regards,
Warren Hammond – AIT Manager and TESOL Trainer
AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL TESOL
DREAM THE DREAM – NURTURE THE DREAM – LIVE THE DREAM
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Conclusion.
How are you coping during these times? Leave a message and if you need help or just someone to talk to you can contact me directly through my social media links.
Stephen
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A good education is so important in any poor country. Regardless if it’s in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam or in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, if Americans go their to live and teach, than that’s a great thing. Of course with this covid-19 virus hindering international travel, good qualified teachers willing to go to these countries to teach, sometime risking their own safety, deserves high praises and honors.
Yes,sometimes teachers can be unsung heroes. Thanks for the kind comments.
Hello Steve! You don’t know how sad I am while reading your blog post. Vietnam is my motherland country and seeing how it is disrupted by all these infection really broke my heart. I wish the pandemic would end quickly and things could turn back to normal. I have a lot of relatives over there and seems like everyone is struggling to put food on their plates these days. Anyways, I wish you and your family could stay safe during this period of time!
All the best,
Ian
Yes, it is difficult times in Vietnam at the moment. But , I think, we all will get back to some form of normality soon. I hope your relatives are safe. Thanks for the kind wishes.
There are a lot of dramatic events happening around the world today and it was sad to read about what is happening in Vietnam. It is very frightening that Ho Chi Minh City 241,110 corona virus infections and 9,974 deaths.With only 3 % of Vietnam vaccinated I hope the virus does not raise it’s head again.
It was extremely sad to hear about the 2 suicides of English teachers during these difficult times.
We went through that too and we know how hard it can be.
The world news is getting more and more alarming. Please take care.
Vasile,
Thanks Vasille for your concern and kind comments.
Stephen