Coronavirus threat leaves parents ’worried’ for students heading back to school
Children in Sydney’s northwest have donned protective masks for the first day of school amid the outbreak of coronavirus while one mother claimed families in the area were lying about travelling to China in the holiday break.
NSW
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Children in Sydney’s northwest donned protective masks for the first day of school on Wednesday while one parent claimed families in the area were lying about where they travelled during the break, amid the outbreak of coronavirus.
The NSW Government made a plea to parents on Tuesday to keep their children home if they had recently been in China but Ryde Public School mother-of-two Natasha Haugh said some families were defying the request.
“I know of people in the local community who travelled to China and back, then lied about it and said they’d been to Bali,” Ms Haugh said outside the school on Wednesday morning.
“They could be infected with the virus and spread it. It made me really angry, they’re putting other people’s lives potentially at risk.”
Ms Haugh said that her eldest Holly, 8, was “worried” about returning to school amid the outbreak, and that she had “considered” buying her daughter a mask.
“She’s been worried, but we haven’t hidden it from her because she needs to be aware,” Ms Haugh said.
“It’s quite a worry, especially when you’ve got small children. We thought about buying masks but it’s hard to find them at the moment, everywhere is sold out.”
One mother, Fabia Ricardo made hand-sewn protective masks for her sons Zayn, 7, and Alex, 9, to wear to school and said she had been inundated with requests from other parents.
“I usually make them for the flu season, it’s my hobby, but I kept in contact with other mums over the school holidays and I had lots asking me to make masks for their child,” Ms Ricardo said.
“They’re cotton masks, so they won’t do a lot, but it’s better than nothing at school. I can’t monitor (her kids) there, so I just want to keep them safe.”
Fellow school mum Seoeun Bang told The Daily Telegraph that she was “worried” to send her seven year-old daughter Aria back to school today. Ms Bang knows three local families who have voluntarily quarantined themselves after returning from China, and made sure that her daughter donned a mask before she entered the classroom.
“I am worried about it, it’s very dangerous and I don’t think people are concerned enough,’ Ms Bang said.
“I’m just worried about my child, and infection from the virus.”
A two-year-old child is among 16 people being tested for the deadly coronavirus by NSW Health.
The state’s chief health officer Kerry Chant said there were 10 men and six women being tested for the disease, but the number of confirmed cases in NSW remained four.
“The fact that we have 16 cases under investigation just reflects that we have broadened our testing,” she said.
“Our test definition has broadened to a focus on the Hubei Province, not just Wuhan.
“So broadening the testing and that is to detect any cases and take a very precautionary approach.”
Dr Chant said all cases of the virus in Australia have been “less severe” compared to those in China.
“In fact, two of our patients have improved significantly,” she said.