North shore student, aged 7, tests positive for COVID-19
A north shore public school has been temporarily closed after a student tested positive for COVID-19. Health officials are continuing to investigate how the seven-year-old boy contracted the virus and urged residents to get tested.
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Health officials are continuing to investigate how a Year 2 student who attends a north shore primary school contacted coronavirus.
Students at Lane Cove West Public School have been told not to turn up to classes on Thursday after the seven-year-old boy was confirmed to have been diagnosed with COVID-19.
The school confirmed the case in a letter to parents on Wednesday, advising learning would shift online while the school closed for cleaning and to allow contact tracing to occur.
NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said the child’s symptoms developed on Saturday and health officials are “continuing to investigate the source of infection”.
NSW Health encouraged students who have been unwell or have flu-like symptoms to be tested at the COVID-19 clinic at Royal North Shore Hospital.
“A clinic has been set (at the hospital) for students from the school. Only students who are unwell with a fever or respiratory symptoms such as a sore throat or cough need to be tested,” NSW Health said.
School P&C vice president Stuart Turner on Thursday said parents had not received an update on when on-site learning would resume at the campus.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the student was one of four people in NSW to have contracted the virus in the last 24 hours.
The three other cases were returned overseas travellers in hotel quarantine.
“We need to alert people in NSW to take it seriously, we cannot expect for our community to be completely insulated from transmission,” he said.
Dr Chant urged “anyone in the Lane Cove community who has symptoms to come forward and get tested.”
She said all close contacts of the student are being contacted and isolated.
The school has made learning materials available to students on Thursday including classroom teachers using SeeSaw and Zoom.
The testing clinic at Royal North Shore Hospital is located at the Douglas Building.