Education RAT rollout still short as SA term starts

As schools go back for the new year on Wednesday, the government is scrambling to deliver the rapid Covid-19 tests it promised.

Shortages of rapid antigen tests required by child care centres and schools will be fixed by Wednesday, Premier Steven Marshall has pledged.

Early childhood care providers and schools were due to receive RAT kits to follow new rules on Covid-19 which began this week.

Mr Marshall on Monday also changed advice to close contacts of Covid-19 cases, urging them to get a PCR test rather than a RAT.

Under the new rules for education, there are sets of protocols and classifications of contacts.

It is “strongly recommended” early childhood workers pass three RATs a week.

Workers in a school or childcare centre who are a “classroom contact” must pass a daily RAT for seven days.

The RATs were promised free to government and private providers.

However, more than a third of 103 Catholic schools were still waiting for a delivery as at Monday afternoon.

Australian Childcare Alliance president Kerry Mahony said centres tried to buy RATs which were “an important part of control”.

However, they were not available.

Premier Steven Marshall speaking to year 5 student Samuel Heath about online learning. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Naomi Jellicoe

Mr Marshall said “a small number” of schools and preschools were affected.

“We’ll rectify that in the next 24 to 48 hours,” he said.

SA had agreed to distribute the RATs on request from the federal government.

“But the reality is that these (RATs) are not under the control of the state government they are a national part of the overall scheme on education,” he said.

Opposition education spokesman Blair Boyer said the shortage showed the government “simply wasn’t prepared before opening the borders”.

Mr Marshall said six deaths of people with Covid-19 were recorded on Monday – three men in their 70s, and three women, one each in the 80s, 90s and 100s age groups.

SA recorded 1505 new cases and 281 people in hospital.

Falling case numbers led Mr Marshall to shift advice.

“My strong message to South Australians who might be close contacts is to go and have that PCR test rather than a RAT test,” he said.

“A PCR test is readily available, the turnaround time is very low, it’s the lowest in the country at the moment.”

The advice is a shift from mid-January when close contacts were urged to get a RAT, which Mr Marshall said then were “an important step as we enter the next stage of our response”.

Samuel and Lucy Heath try an online physical education package. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Naomi Jellicoe

Education Minister John Gardner also announced packages of online learning were now available for reception to year 10.

The packages at Our Learning SA and created by local teachers were aimed at students sick at home or isolating, rather than those in an online lesson hosted by a teacher.

Torrensville mum Eleanore Heath said her children, Samuel, 9, and Lucy, 7, found the online packages were fun.

“Learning to cope with change is probably good for them,” she said.

Samuel said he particularly enjoyed writing.