Under the new direction by Hanoi's Department of Education and Training, only 12th graders will return to schools from Monday, with 50 percent having in-person classes Monday, Wednesday and Friday and the rest having them on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

In an earlier plan announced on December 3 which has been canceled, the city allowed all high schools in low-risk areas hosting students from grade 10 to 12 to reopen from Monday after seven months of shutdowns.

Students from other grades will still have to learn online and kindergartens remain closed, except for ninth graders in suburban districts with low Covid-19 risk who were allowed to come back to schools since November.

Hanoi has recorded some 450 cases of Covid-19 transmissions in the community each day on average in the past week, with the figures continuously breaking all-time records, according to the municipal center for disease control.

The capital city has about 3,000 schools with more than 2 million students across 30 districts and one township, according to local media Vietnam News. Hanoi is stepping up vaccination for children aged 12-17 to get them back to school.