The Chief Health Officer has advised schools on how they manage in-school gatherings.
Welcoming the Health Officers advice, the Minister for Education and Training, Sue Ellery said its aim was to minimise the number of students and staff impacted by the presence of a person who may be COVID-19 positive but was not yet showing symptoms.
The Minister said that among other things, the Chief health Officer’s advice was that schools should limit in-school gatherings of students and staff to class groups or small groups within a year level.
“The new advice complements the previous Safe Return to School Plan which includes a ventilation strategy; enhanced cleaning services; and mask wearing for secondary students, school staff and other adults, among other measures,” Ms Ellery said.
She said keeping schools safe and open to provide face-to-face learning was a Government priority.
“The response to any case of COVID-19 in a school takes the particular circumstances and public health risk into account, but there is now a range of measures in place in schools to minimise the risk of transmission,” she said.
“Combined with the additional measures introduced through the State Government’s Safe Return to School Plan ahead of Term One, this updated advice for schools will help to minimise the number of students or staff impacted by the presence of a positive case.”
Ms Ellery said the most important thing was that schools would continue to provide students with quality teaching and learning “as we take sensible and proportionate actions to respond to the changing environment we are living in with COVID-19”.
