General News
26 January, 2022
State government provides free RATs to schools
The state government has provided schools with free rapid antigen tests for four weeks of testing.
WITH school resuming in less than a week and COVID-19 cases steadily rising in Victoria, the state government has provided schools with free rapid antigen tests for four weeks of testing.
The state government’s new COVIDSafe plan aspires to keep in-person education open with surveillance testing, ventilation and vaccines for a safe 2022 school year.
Premier Daniel Andrews said that face-to-face learning is the best option for Victorian childrens’ learning and wellbeing.
“That's why we’ve done the work to get students safely back in the classroom from the start of Term 1, and make sure they stay there,” he said.
Students from prep to Year 12 and staff attending schools will be provided with two free RAT tests each per week to continue to monitor the outbreaks of COVID-19 and keep schools safe.
The free RAT tests will be in place for the first four weeks of Term 1; it is advised for students and staff to test twice a week before going to school or childcare for the day.
The state government is set to deliver over 14 million RAT tests, with 6.6 million set to be delivered by the first week of Term 1.
Specialist school staff and students have been recommended to test in the morning five days each week to protect the higher risk students.
The state government will also provide masks for primary and secondary students and staff.
All staff, visitors and students in Year 3 and over will be required to wear a mask. Students will not need to wear a mask if they are outdoors or have a valid exemption.
To keep staff shortages at a minimum and students safe, school and childcare staff have been added to the list of workers in key sectors who must receive their third COVID-19 vaccine by February 25 if they are already eligible or within three months and two weeks of receiving their second dose.
Staff members will need to have their third vaccination by these dates to keep working in an education setting.
Improving ventilation in indoor education settings plays a big part in the COVIDSafe plan as 51,000 air purification devices are set to arrive in government and low-fee non-government schools by the first day of Term 1 to slow the spread of COVID.
Schools are being encouraged to ventilate their indoor classrooms by keeping windows, doors and vents open to increase outdoor airflow and have airconditioners set to circulate as much outdoor air as possible.
Good ventilation is highly recommended for high risk areas such as staff rooms, indoor canteens and music rooms where aerosol transmissions are more prominent.
Minister for Education James Merlino said that he can’t wait to welcome all students back for Term 1.
“With vital COVIDSafe steps in place like surveillance testing, improved ventilation and high rates of vaccination, we’ve done everything we can to make schools as safe as possible,” he said.
As of January 23, more than 29 percent of children aged five to 11 have received their first COVID-19 vaccination with the state government working to ensure children have their second dose by the end of Term1 by opening 30 pop-up vaccination clinics at schools.
Schooling staff have also been recognised as critical workers, allowing household contact staff to voluntarily go back to work if they are asymptomatic and provide a daily negative RAT test result.
Inactive teachers, education support staff, retired principals and surge administrative support staff have been added to a pool for schools to utilize in the case of an outbreak related staff shortage.
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