Victoria records another coronavirus spike as back-to-class plans revealed for students and parents
Reopened playgrounds, a parent ban and staggered arrivals are at the centre of ambitious plans for Victorian students’ return to school. It comes as the state records another spike in new coronavirus cases, with 12 more patients diagnosed in the past 24 hours.
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Victoria has recorded another spike in coronavirus cases, with 12 new patients diagnosed in the past 24 hours.
The fresh figures include five connected to the Cedar Meats abattoir outbreak, four in quarantine hotels and three potentially linked to community transmission.
Ten Victorians with coronavirus remain in hospital, including five in ICU.
The state now has 1593 COVID-19 cases, 93 of which are active and 171 potentially contracted through community transmission.
It comes as ambitious plans into how students will return to school are revealed, including arrivals staggered by name, parents banned from campuses, reopened playgrounds and rules stating anyone with a sniffle must stay home.
Families have been sent detailed back-to-school plans for how campuses will run during the pandemic.
For preps, grades 1 and 2 and VCE students returning on Tuesday, the only adult on campus they can expect to see will be a teacher or staff member.
Parents will need permission to enter a campus and have been told to stay in cars where possible during staggered drop offs and pick ups, with many schools dividing kids into groups according to their last name, and using several gates to enter or exit.
School playgrounds will also be opened and cleaned regularly once students return to in-person classes.
Auburn South Primary School principal Marcus Wicher said his school would have “a lot of changes”. But classrooms would look the same “so it will feel like they’re coming home”. Big gatherings and assemblies were scrapped — Auburn South Primary moved its awards online.
“Kids have been replying, even five-year-olds, saying ‘I’m so proud of you’ to their classmates, so some of these incidental things have been positive,” Mr Wicher said.
He said there would be changes around how the school supported kids if they started to feel unwell — on Thursday, he helped a sick student put on a mask while donning one himself.
Anyone who arrives to school sick would be sent home immediately.
It comes as 10,000 school staff volunteered for coronavirus tests — all so far have been negative.
Mr Wicher was excited to welcome back staff and students, saying the campus had been “lonely” without them.
“It will be pretty special,” he said.
VICTORIANS BACK RETURN TO TRAVEL
Victorians have overwhelmingly backed calls for the government to allow travel within the state.
After pleas from tourism and hospitality businesses for Premier Daniel Andrews to name the date from which intrastate travel will be allowed, hundreds of Victorians said the restrictions should be eased next month.
A Herald Sun poll of more than 4000 people found 77 per cent supported tourism within Victoria being allowed to return on June 1, while 15 per cent were against and 8 per cent unsure.
Under the state’s stay-at-home orders, people cannot take holidays even within Victoria and can only go for trips to places where they can return to and from in one day.
Victoria on Thursday confirmed four coronavirus cases, bringing the state total to 1581, 88 of which were still active.
Three of the four cases were from Cedar Meats, where the cluster has grown to 106 – making it the second biggest outbreak in Australia after the Ruby Princess cruise ship.
Police Minister Lisa Neville said Thursday’s fourth case was still under investigation.
She said the latest figures showed Victorians were heeding safety messages.
“Even with the easing of restrictions people are still following the advice,” she said. “It is so important we continue to do that as we consider any further easing of restrictions.”
More than 162 tests from Villa Maria aged care home in Bundoora were negative on Thursday, as were 132 tests from Hammond aged care.
The Federal Government on Thursday rolled out advertisements for Australians to follow three key steps in fighting the virus: practising social distancing, maintaining good hygiene and using the COVIDSafe app. The ad says: “Do the three and stay COVID free”.
CASH-STRAPPED STUDENTS DENIED UNI FEE REFUNDS
Half of Victoria’s universities are continuing to charge students a $308 fee for campus services during the coronavirus shut down.
A survey by the Institute of Public Affairs found four of the state’s universities are still charging the full student services amenities fee, which typically funds on-site sport and recreation activities, childcare, counselling and career advice.
“I don’t see where this money is going,” said Melbourne University student Julia Sekulic. “I don’t want to think about how long it will take me to cover these costs.”
Ms Sekulic lost her job at a restaurant due to COVID-19 and said she hoped the university would “stand up and help us” — however, it continued to change the full fee.
Renee Gorman, the national manager of the Generation Liberty project, which ran the survey, said universities should at minimum offer a “significant reduction” in the fee “as a majority of these services are no longer available”.
“Universities are continuing to charge this tax at a time when a large proportion of university students are suffering from severe financial strain,” she said.
La Trobe University is the only institution to offer a refund, while Monash, Deakin and Federation universities are charging a discounted rate.
RMIT, Melbourne, Victoria and Swinburne universities continue to collect the $308.
A La Trobe spokeswoman said the university decided not to charge the student services amenities cost in semester one to “put money directly back in the pockets of our students when they needed it most”.
The university will also waive 50 per cent of the fee in semester two, while still running some essential support services.
The spokeswoman said COVID-19 had led to significant impacts across the sector and “universities are making decisions that make the most sense according to their own financial situation”.
RMIT, Melbourne, Victoria, and Swinburne universities stated they were offering many services online, including welfare or career support, though the demand for the virtual programs was unknown.
The universities did not respond to whether they would provide a refund if requested.
Mrs Gorman said student unions and gilds “remained mostly silent” on the issue.
“This could be because they collect a lion’s share of their funding from SSAF,” she said.
NO COMMUTE A CLEAR WINNER FOR VICTORIANS
More than half of Victorians working from home want to continue doing so, due to the time saved on their daily commute, an RACV survey has found.
New research by the state’s peak motoring body found nearly three quarters of those surveyed had regained more than an hour a day because they were not stuck in peak-hour traffic or on public transport.
As a result, more than 50 per cent of Victorians said they wanted to work from home in some way once restrictions were eased and a third said they wanted to work remotely two to three times a week. But just 8 per cent of respondents admitted they wanted to work from home permanently.
Traffic numbers in Melbourne are increasing every week as more people move around the city.
RACV senior planner Stuart Outhred said the survey results revealed a chance to cut congestion on Melbourne roads.
“We hope to see employers provide flexible work opportunities for those seeking the balance between home and the office,” he said.
“(It would) alleviate the pressures on our road network if people continue to avoid public transport.
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