Regarding the case of many students of Hoa Sen Kindergarten (Hoai Duc commune, Hanoi) having to be hospitalized due to suspected digestive disorders, although the school has welcomed children back to school, it has not yet organized semi-boarding meals. Many parents said that they have not brought their children to class because they have not received the test results of food samples from the meal on July 7.
Recorded at about 3 pm on July 15, Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh (character name changed) - a parent whose child studies at Hoa Sen Kindergarten - said that his child was hospitalized from July 7 and discharged after 3 days of treatment. The family currently leaves the child at home to monitor his health.
It has been a week now, but the family has not received any notification of the school's food sample test results, so I am not sure to send my child back to school. In my child's class group, 13 children had to be hospitalized, 4 children showed symptoms of vomiting and were monitored at home, and about 10 children had no symptoms. I have only sent my child to school for nearly 2 months, and I also don't know which unit is providing food to the school. I am also considering transferring my child because I see quite a few parents looking for another school for their child," Mr. Thanh shared.
Similarly, Ms. Nguyen Thi Le (character name changed) - whose 3-year-old child is studying at Hoa Sen Kindergarten - said that after the incident, the school has temporarily stopped organizing semi-boarding meals.
After returning home from school on July 7, that evening, my child vomited 4 times. I gave my child digestive enzymes, the next day I saw that my child was better, so the family monitored him at home. The teachers also came to visit and brought milk for the child. Through exchanges in the parent group, I learned that some children vomited so much that they were paralyzed," Ms. Le said.
According to Ms. Le, so far parents have not received food sample test results although the incident happened about 1 week ago, so the family is still worried and has not allowed their children to return to school.
We asked teachers in the group class but only received information that we are continuing to wait for results from the school. Regarding the source of food that the school imports from which unit, we are also not clear. Previously, occasionally taking my children to school, I was invited by the teacher to check food at the kitchen, but since the summer, I have not been closely following, so I have not been allowed to check any day," Ms. Le said.
On July 14, reporters contacted Mr. Nguyen Huy Hoang - Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, Chairman of Hoai Duc Commune People's Committee - to learn about the unit providing meals for the school as well as the test results of food samples. Mr. Hoang said he would provide complete information when there are official results.
Many parents hope that functional agencies will soon have official and transparent information about food sources, processing procedures as well as the responsibilities of relevant units to ensure the safety of school meals and avoid similar incidents from recurring.
