HANOI, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 23 million students in Vietnam began their new school year on Saturday under the COVID-19 epidemic, Vietnam News Agency reported.

It is estimated that there are nearly 5.4 million pre-school students, over 8.7 million elementary school students, over 6 million secondary school students and more than 2.8 million high school students in the new school year, the news agency reported.

School opening ceremonies were held at schools across the country on Saturday, while schools in areas under social distancing hosted virtual ceremonies with regards to the COVID-19 epidemic situation under the direction of the country's Ministry of Education and Training, according to the news agency.