Coronavirus Qld: Essential workers get reprieve as school’s in

Frontline health professionals were given reprieve yesterday as the state’s schools went back to class, with essential workers’ and vulnerable children walking through the front gates.

FOR doctors and frontline health workers, the reopening of classrooms yesterday threw them a lifeline that allowed their kids to be schooled while they worked hard to help others amid the COVID-19 crisis.

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Mater Hospital anaesthetist Emma Walters, whose four children – Harvey, 5, Frances, 5, Audrey, 9, and Oliver, 6 – attend Wilston State High School, said she was on call more often than not.

“I’m on call every day and trying to help out as much as possible so I still need my kids at school,” she said.

Her husband also works in the medical field meaning they are both “flat-strapped”, meaning that even with online resources, finding the time to supervise their children’s learning “is just not possible for us at this point”.

“Especially now that they’re schools are all back – it’s my childcare throughout the week,” Ms Walters said.

Essential worker Emma Walters of Wilston with her four kids Harvey, 5, Frances, 5, Audrey, 9, and Oliver, 6, arrive at Wilston State School for the beginning of term two yesterday. Picture: Liam Kidston

“I don’t have back ups between 8am and 3pm and if I was at home with someone else looking after them, I just don’t know how to teach them and three hours (of learning) might be one-on-one with each of them but for four kids that’s 12 hours.”

She said she hoped the health advice would permit reopening schools in full by the end of week five.

“I think everybody is looking forward to a little bit of normality but we obviously understand the reasons decisions are made for everyone's benefit,” she said.

“But at the end of five weeks it would be nice to get some schools back in and see each other's friends and see teachers get back to normal.”

Originally published as Coronavirus Qld: Essential workers get reprieve as school’s in