Covid-19: surge of cases among pupils and school staff, Education Department data shows

The number of public school students and staff absent with Covid-19 has surged in the past week as South Australia’s latest Omicron wave peaks.

The number of public school students and staff absent with Covid-19 has surged in the past week as South Australia’s latest Omicron wave peaks.

Education Department data shows a spike of almost a third in state school pupils, and almost two thirds more teachers, who have been struck down with coronavirus in the past week.

Figures show as of Friday, 715 infectious students were absent along with 346 staff.

This compares to more than 5600 students and 847 staff away at the height of the third wave at the end of Term 1 earlier this year when 15 schools shut class or had full campus closures.

The number of SA public school students and staff absent with Covid-19 has surged in the past week. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

Salisbury Park Primary school, in Adelaide’s northern suburbs, has a compulsory mask policy in place until Wednesday.

Last week some of the schools classes were home schooled due to the rate of virus reaching a special threshold.

Education Department rules state schools can reimpose masks mandates if more than 10 positive Covid-19 cases are detected in a classroom in one week, or when five or more cases in five separate classrooms emerge over a seven-day period.

Last week, Modbury Special as well as Golden Grove, the Salisbury East-based Keller Road, and Salisbury Park primary schools had mask mandates.

The school term has two weeks left.

Chief public health officer Professor Nicola Spurrier with Professor Martin Westwell (background right). Picture: NCA NewsWire/Naomi Jellicoe

Education Department chief executive, Professor Martin Westwell, said officials were closely monitoring outbreaks.

“While we have seen an increase in reported cases in line with the forecast peak, we are not experiencing any difficulties in managing the situation,” he said.

Federal Health Minister Mark Butler on Sunday said there appeared to be a flattening of the country’s Covid curve.

On Friday chief public health officer Professor Nicola Spurrier said cases were plateauing but it was too early to state SA had hit its Covid peak.

SA Health recorded 9000 cases last week compared with 8,346 a fortnight ago.

Drive through testing sites will be scrapped in early January 1,033 days after the first opened at the Repat site while free RATs offered to all South Australians.