Covid Qld: Teachers, students still going maskless

Queensland schools are failing to follow the Premier’s “strong advice” to wear masks as the state’s Covid-19 cases spiral.

Masks are not being worn in all Queensland schools despite Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk “strongly advising” that teachers and students wear them when indoors.

The State Government stopped short of enforcing a mandate, with Ms Palaszczuk saying there was an onus on personal responsibility, but she knew Queenslanders would do the right thing.

“We are urging students and teachers to wear masks – yes, strongly advising,” she said.

But industry bodies seem divided on the issue, despite the boom in Covid-19 cases.

The Queensland Teachers’ Union on Monday implored, with no formal mandates in place, that anyone “involved with state schools” to have a strategy of personal responsibility to stop the spread of Covid-19.

However, independent Education Union Queensland branch secretary Terry Burke said a statewide mask mandate for schools was “not appropriate at this point”.

Oliver, 9, Ale and Zoe Wiecek, 7, at Oriel Park in Ascot yesterday. Picture: Josh Woning

“There are still situations where mask-wearing is very difficult — such as group work which requires a lot of conversation – our position is that a statewide mask mandate for schools is not appropriate at this point,” he said.

Mr Burke said individual schools were best placed to manage the outbreak on their own, but the IEU-QNT is aware of a number of schools that are currently revisiting their remote learning capabilities.

Independent Schools Queensland CEO, Chris Mountford, said the current wave of Covid-19 was “no doubt” set to have an impact on all schools, but how each independent school managed cases and preventive measures such as mask wearing was ultimately up to them.

Queensland Catholic Education Commission executive director Dr Lee-Anne Perry said Catholic schools would take a similar approach.

At Marist College in Ashgrove, head of college Michael Newman said all parents had been made aware of changes, including conducting all assemblies online, having no large student gatherings indoors and the recommendation of masks to be worn.

Meanwhile, Brisbane Grammar School acting headmaster David Carroll said the school encouraged the use of masks for students and staff, and continued to encourage vaccination for all eligible members of the school community.

Similarly, Brisbane Girls Grammar School, “strongly” encourage staff, students, and visitors to wear masks.

Mother-of-two Ale Wiecek said she had noticed a difference between the Covid-19 protocols at public and private schools: Ascot State School and St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School.

Ms Wiecek said there has been “a lot more communication” at nine-year-old Oliver’s public school and compared to her daughter’s private school where protocols “feel a bit more relaxed”.

But Ms Wiecek said she believes children would “struggle” with a mask mandate unless there was an outbreak.

It comes as an observation of the Brisbane CBD on Monday revealed about one in 10 people wearing masks.

In half an hour at the busy Myer Centre in Brisbane’s Queen St Mall, more than 100 people were seen wearing a mask.

This included workers in shops, where it’s up to the individual business whether staff need to don a mask.