Parents ‘sweat’ with negative certificates

The regulation that F1 students must have a negative test certificate to return to school directly makes parents angry because it is time consuming and expensive.

On the morning of February 28, Ms. Chi, a parent of class 10 at Le Quy Don High School, District 3, took her son to the polyclinic early for a quick test  Covid-19. Five days ago, her child became F1 when there was a F0 student in her class. According to regulations, her son and close contacts of F0 must be isolated at home for five days. After that, they have to take a quick test and get a negative certificate before they can return to class.

To get this certificate, parents must bring their children to a health station or a clinic or hospital. Some people offered to take a quick test at home and report the results to the school, but they were not accepted. The teacher explained that this is an industry regulation and is implemented by the school administration.

On Sunday, the ward’s health station was understaffed, and it was difficult to wait for a test, so Ms. Chi had to go to the clinic on Monday, February 28.

According to the  F0, F1 handling instructions in the school of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, when a student is identified as F1, the school’s medical staff or the teacher makes a list and provides epidemiological information to the local health station.

In order to return to face-to-face classes, students must test negative on the fifth day (if two doses of the vaccine have been given) and on the seventh day (if they have not been vaccinated or given the full dose). This can be done by medical facility staff or by the students themselves under remote supervision.

According to Ms. Chi, based on the above instructions, school medical staff or local health stations can remotely monitor students for testing. A simpler and more convenient option is for parents to quickly test their children and report them with pictures of test strips to the teacher.

“This approach will be convenient for both the school and parents. Why push F1 students to go out for testing and bring back certificates, increasing the risk of disease,” said the parent.

Frustrated with the above regulation, Chi decided to let her children study online at home, wait for stability before going to school directly. However, because her son wanted to go to school, she had to send him to get tested.

Mr. Ha Huu Thach, Principal of Le Quy Don High School, confirmed that the school had the above requirement for F1 students due to compliance with the regulations of the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City. Every day, the list of F1 students is reported by the school to the wards and medical centers in District 3, where the school is located.

Mr. Thach said that the school considers the option of monitoring students to test remotely. However, according to the guidance of the district health, the school medical staff is not qualified to do this. Therefore, students must go to medical stations or medical facilities for testing.

“We have proposed the Department of Education and Training, District 3 Medical Center to review this process, so that it is more convenient for parents and students,” said Mr. Thach after noticing the inadequacy.

Similarly, some other parents are frustrated with the requirement that they must have a negative certificate before they can return to school. Quynh, who lives in Thu Duc City, has a first-grade F1 child, said the above regulations are “too many, not effective”. “Currently, there are more and more F0s in schools, the number of F1s accordingly increases many times. If forced to go to the wards or medical stations, it will cause great pressure for them, take a lot of time to wait, and are extremely tired. “, Quynh said.

According to this parent, rapid testing for children causes negative effects on health and psychology. Her son cried every time he was tested quickly while many other children in the class suffered damage to their noses. According to Quynh, F1 children only need to monitor their health at home for the full seven days as prescribed. If they do not have a cough or fever, they can study directly.

Another parent, a worker in District 12, said that the above regulation is costly and creates a great burden for families with economic difficulties. “To get a certificate, a quick test outside also costs around 200,000 VND. Assuming a child gets F1 a few times a month, the parents are also confused,” he said.

Currently, the way to handle and screen F1 in each school is different. In addition to schools that strictly comply with regulations, some schools are “flexible” for parents to test their children at home after the isolation period ends, and report the results by taking a photo of the test strip to the teacher. “If the process of the Ministry of Health is strictly followed, there are many difficulties and complaints from parents,” said a principal of an inner-city secondary school.