Students segregated, asked for medical checks by schools amid coronavirus outbreak
More schools across the nation have defied health department advice and warned students who have visited China that they will not be able to return to class until they are cleared by a doctor.
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Education Minister Dan Tehan has slammed schools for isolating students and giving parents the wrong advice about how to deal with the risk of the coronavirus outbreak.
“Individual schools make their own decisions but the advice from the Australian government is to follow our medical advice,” he said.
“I would say to all schools they should be following the advice of the health department, that is the clear position of the Australian government.
“Obviously in the end they will have to answer to their parents, but also they will have to answer to state and territory governments, who have responsibility for schools.”
The federal government has advised students who have returned from China and are healthy are allowed to attend school. For students have been in contact with somebody with coronavirus, they should stay home from school for two weeks.
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The Education Minister’s lashing comes as more Australian schools are going to extreme lengths to ensure their students’ safety from the deadly coronavirus taking the world by storm.
As the death toll continues to rise – sharply climbing to 106 overnight – some schools nationwide are segregating Chinese students and banning pupils from attending class, without a medical certificate, if they recently visited China.
One school in Brisbane, Stuartholme School for girls, will isolate and quarantine 10 students flying back from China, who will arrive in Australia today.
The boarding school students will be met at the airport and be taken to school, where they will spend two weeks in quarantine and have medical checks daily.
“We’ll keep them up there and check on them each day,” principal Kristen Sharpe said.
Sydney’s Pymble Ladies College, Melbourne’s Firbank Grammar School and a number of independent schools in Western Australia have also advised parents to keep their children at home for at least two weeks if they had visited an affected area in China.
Other private and independent schools in Sydney emailing parents with same request – with some asking for medical checks before a child’s return to school – include Scots College, Newington College, Kincoppal Rose Bay, SCEGGS, Redlands at Cremorne and Mount St Benedict at Pennant Hills.
More than 150 Catholic schools in state will also not allow students who have visited China attend class until they are cleared by a doctor.
The Australian reports a letter penned by Sydney Catholic Schools executive director Tony Farley said any children who visited China since December would need to present a doctor’s certificate before they were allowed to return to school.
The move goes against advice from federal and NSW health, which stated students without coronavirus symptoms could attend school.
“A small number of school principals have notified the Sydney Catholic Schools’ office indicating that some students in their school have indeed visited China over the holiday period,” Mr Farley wrote, according to The Australian.
“In the interest of prioritising the health and welfare of our students and our community, the following protocols will be in place to start the new year:
“If you have visited China anytime in December to now, please refrain from sending your children to school until they have been checked and cleared by a doctor. During this time, you should be alert for symptoms related to a fever or other respiratory symptoms.
“A doctor’s certificate will be required prior to your children returning to school. Please contact the principal directly if this is the case.
“If you have not visited China, but your children are exhibiting any flu-like symptoms, please refrain from sending them to school until they have recovered.”
Melbourne’s Xin Jin Shan Chinese Language School also postponed the beginning of the school year altogether by a week, and Scotch College contacted parents in English and Chinese.
Victoria’s Education Minister James Merlino reiterated parents should start the school year as normal.
“If you are well, whether you are staff or a student, you should attend school,” he said.
“The only exceptions are if you have a confirmed case of coronavirus or you have been in contact with a person who has contracted coronavirus.
“There are a handful of schools that have provided different advice, but the best thing we can do is take the expert advice.”
In South Australia, Seymour College and Pulteney Grammar have urged families who recently travelled to China to wait it out at home for the incubation period of the organism – thought to be between four and 14 days.
Messages began circulating to parents on Sunday as schools implemented measures, with Blackfriars Priory School in South Australia telling parents: “If you have visited the Wuhan district of China during the holidays, we ask that you refrain from sending your children to school until they have been back in Australia for at least 10 days”.
Other South Australian schools which have advised parents to watch for symptoms include Magill Primary School, St Peter’s College and Pembroke School.
Walford Anglican School For Girls has also advised parents the coronavirus situation is being monitored.
A Department of Education spokesman in South Australia said symptoms of coronavirus included fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue and a sore throat.
“All students and staff who have travelled to mainland China, and especially Hubei Province, should monitor themselves for the 14 days from their departure from mainland China for symptoms of coronavirus,” the spokesman said.
Currently, there are five confirmed cases of coronavirus nationally: four in NSW and one in Victoria, but none so far in Queensland.
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Originally published as Students segregated, asked for medical checks by schools amid coronavirus outbreak