Students receive hand sanitizer upon arriving at a school in HCMC, May 2020 (Photo: VnExpress/Manh Tung)

The HCMC People's Committee announced the decision Wednesday after the southern metropolis had gone 14 days without community transmissions.

HCMC has over 1.74 million students from kindergarten to high school levels, along with over 100,000 teachers and school employees. The city authorities had allowed all students to remain home and attend online classes, instead of returning to school after the Tet break on Feb. 16 for fear of infections from the post-holiday travel.

Vietnamese students are typically given a two-week spring holiday and a three-month summer break. Last year, Covid-19 forced schools across the country to close for three months after Tet.

HCMC has recorded 36 community transmissions, one linked to the cluster in Hai Duong Province and 35 cases associated with the outbreak at Tan Son Nhat International Airport.

Health authorities said the outbreak in the city has been put under control, with consideration given to reopening 'non-essential' services.

At least 52 localities across the country have also announced to let their students return to school Monday.