School closures managed; VCE a priority

Health authorities will work closely with schools to ensure they can remain open following a COVID exposure, according to COVID Response Commander Jeroen Weimar.

With increasing anxiety about schools becoming exposure sites, Mr Weimar outlined school COVID management procedures during an online community forum for Baw Baw and Latrobe residents last week.

In the past 10 days, several West Gippsland primary and secondary schools have been forced into temporary closures for deep cleaning and to work with health authorities.

But, once tracing was completed to identify primary contacts, Mr Weimar said the aim was to keep schools open.

He said in the past 10 to 12 days across Victoria, 49 schools across the state had been closed because of a COVID exposure.

“We will now see schools all have COVID exposures.

“We want to minimise the number of schools that have to close and minimise the number of students that will have to isolate.

“We want to reduce the size of the impact zones and reduce the impact on kids.

“We want to give the majority of children the opportunity to back in the classroom,” he said.

He assured the community a lot of work had been done by schools and how the manage class structures.

Mr Weimar said all exposure sites were managed and classified according to their public risk.

He said schools, hospitals and aged care were not listed as public exposure sites unless there was an “exceptional risk.”

VCE priority

Mr Weimar said VCE students were the priority for health authorities over coming weeks.

“Our absolute focus is on VCE students doing exams.

“They are our focus and they are absolutely our priority,” he said.

The government last week announced changes for VCE students who may be primary contacts, to enable them to sit their exams.

VCE students who become primary close contacts will now have permission to attend their exams, while otherwise complying with isolation orders.

Students will be able to sit exams in dedicated rooms with separate entrances either by themselves or safely distanced from other students who are also primary close contacts, depending on capacity. They will be supervised by staff wearing face shields and enhanced PPE in safely ventilated rooms that are cleaned between each use.

Each student who is a primary close contact will need to be tested every 48 hours in their first week after exposure, then again on day 13.

Regular testing will be the key to ensuring any potential virus is picked up early.

Any students who test positive will not be able to attend school or sit their exams.