In news that will make every parent of school age children breathe a sigh of relief, the Federal and Victorian governments appear to have agreed on plan to return to schools that focuses on keeping schools as open as possible.
The plan is likely to include encouraging students to get tested before starting school and twice a week. However, even if a student in their class tests positive, children who test negative will be able to return to class without isolating!
The Herald Sun notes that “it has today been announced classmates of students who contract Covid when school returns will not be required to isolate in a bid to ensure kids avoid another stop-start year of education.”
Federal Chief Medical Officer, Professor Paul Kelly states that “If you are sick yourself as a child, you should not be coming to school. Otherwise, it’s schools are opening on time, staying open as much as possible, minimising that disruption to face-to-face learning.”
Although an increase in transmission was likely to increase upon the return to school, Professor Kelly reassured that the instances of severe disease in children are “very, very low”.
Image credit: Herald Sun
