Students return home for Tet
Various schools, colleges and universities in Hanoi have allowed students to take an early Tet Holiday amid the new Covid-19 outbreak.
Nguyen Huong from Thai Nguyen Province said she used to take passenger buses to return to her hometown. However, this year, her parents hired a taxi for her for VND1.2m (USD52). The driver must wear a face mask and has no Covid-19 symptoms.
"The bus would cost just VND50,000 (USD2) to VND120,000. But my parents don't want me to take a crowded bus," she said.
Other well-off families in Ha Nam, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh and Bac Giang provinces also hired taxis for their children. Hai Tu from Ninh Binh Province said she hired a taxi to pick up both of her children. To make it safer, she hired a driver near her house who she knew instead of calling a taxi firm.
"It will probably take me about VND1.1m (USD46)," she said. "My husband and I planned to pick them up ourselves but we have urgent matters to attend to so we hired a driver in our village. I felt more assured and it's safer this way."
Other students still have to take passenger buses home.
My Hang, a student at Hanoi University of Science & Technology and from Bac Giang Province said she wore face masks and washed hands the whole way to home.
"I went home two days after the university announced an early Tet Holiday. I took a morning bus so it was less crowded," she said.