Announcement Letter regarding the prevention of respiratory illnesses (caused by a new strain of Corona virus) at VAS

Ho Chi Minh City, January 31st, 2020

ANNOUNCEMENT LETTER

Regarding the prevention of respiratory illnesses
(caused by a new strain of Corona virus) at VAS

Dear Parents!

Taking into consideration the complicated spread of a severe acute respiratory infection caused by the new strain of Corona virus (nCoV), we understand that parents are eager to learn the precautions that we will take to ensure safety in the VAS community.

At VAS, we make the safety and health of our students a top priority. Therefore, after careful reference to the guidelines and advice provided by the International SOS and the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, the preventive measures are being implemented before the school starts on Monday, February 3, 2020. We urge all parents, students, all staff and teachers of VAS to strictly comply with the following precaution measures to prevent the spread of the disease.

Travel:

For all students who have traveled to China for the Lunar New Year after January 13, please remain at home for a 14-calendar day leave of absence. The 14 calendar days begin on the day after the student returned to Vietnam from mainland China.

In addition, all students whose family members living in their home have traveled specifically to or from Hubei Province, China after January 13 must also remain at home for at least 14 calendar days after that family member arrived in Vietnam.

Parents need to notify the school (homeroom teacher or admission office) before 5:00 p.m. of the 2nd February, 2020 of the cases of students traveling as stated.

All parents, guardians of students and family members of students who have traveled to China or have family members who have traveled to the disease area must not pick up the students or be present at the VAS campuses within 14 days since the day they returned from China or their family members return from China.

VAS also applies this leave of absence to all teachers and staff working at all campuses.

Fever:

In addition to conducting cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting the entire campus before February 3, 2020 and equipping masks, increasing handwashing soap for students across all campuses; VAS will also check temperatures of students and all adults entering the school at various times of the day.

We understand that this may cause inconveniences and delays for parents and students as we check temperatures several times a day but this is a very necessary work, so we greatly appreciate your patience and understanding.

Students who have temperatures at or above 37.8° will be taken to the nurse office. After the 2nd check in the nurse office, if a fever is found, parents will be called to bring children home for timely monitoring and treatment. Students may return to school 48 hours after they have recovered from fever or all symptoms and with a doctor's confirmation.

Adults with temperatures at or above 37.8° will also be required to leave campus for medical treatment before returning back to school and be fever and symptom free for 48 hours.

Other respiratory pathological symptoms:

All students who present with respiratory illnesses such as coughing, runny nose, sore throat, fever, chest tightness, or shortness of breath must be kept at home. If a student with these symptoms arrives at school, the school will ask the parent to take the child home for treatment before returning to school only 48 hours after the above symptoms have resolved.

Please note that the above measure also applies to all adults, including parents, teachers, staff, and visitors of the school.

Additional precautions:

According to the guidelines of the Department of Education and Training of HCMC, please:

- Instruct students to limit direct contact with sources of disease spread

- Keep your body warm, personal hygiene, wash your hands often with soap, mouthwash with antiseptic water to prevent disease; cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, preferably with a cloth or handkerchief to reduce the spread of respiratory secretions.

- All students and adults entering and leaving the school must properly wear a medical mask.

Solutions to ensure uninterrupted learning:

For students who need to stay home to monitor or treat their illnesses, parents please contact the student’s homeroom teacher. We understand that this may disrupt your children’s studies but we will do our best to minimize the negative impact of this disruption by providing content and learning materials for students to study at home and not lose lessons.

For the health and safety of all students and the community, we look forward to receiving your full and timely understanding and cooperation.

Sincerely thank you!

Board of Management, VAS