Government strongly encourages RAT use in schools after school parents question safety

Some parents at a Geelong school which was once the centre of a major Covid outbreak have questioned whether rapid antigen tests are safe for their children.

The state government has strongly encouraged school communities to use rapid antigen tests after a local principal revealed parents had raised questions about the safety of RATs.

In a recent newsletter seen by the Geelong Advertiser, Covenant College principal Sue Cox wrote: “We have had a couple of questions regarding the safety of these tests and we can only say that the decision for children to undertake a RAT is a decision that must be made by the parents”.

“We are not requiring surveillance testing as a condition of enrolment or student attendance, parents should make their own decisions about the safety of the tests,” the newsletter said.

“We have not seen any evidence that would suggest that this surveillance testing (as recommended by the Victorian government) will cause adverse health effects to children.”

Covenant College in Bell Post Hill.

Ms Cox told the Addy: “The question came from two parents and our reply was posted on our private newsletter to reassure any other parents who may have had those questions”.

“We are following the Victorian Government guidelines and are encouraging our parents to use the RATs,” she said.

The Covenant College newsletter, dated February 3, noted the school, which is located in Bell Post Hill and temporarily closed due to a Covid outbreak late last year,had a number of students and staff isolating.

Barwon South West public health unit director Eugene Athan said the team had observed a recent increase in Covid-19 cases in school aged children.

“We expect most of these cases have been picked up via RATs now that RATs have been distributed to ... schoolchildren for surveillance,” Prof Athan said.

“RATs are a safe and convenient way for parents to regularly monitor their children for Covid when symptoms may not be present.

“We encourage parents to participate in the education RAT process to help minimise Covid in school settings.”

The Therapeutic Goods Administration confirmed there had been no safety issues identified with the use of RATs in children.

A state government spokeswoman said the surveillance testing program for schools was working well and had detected thousands of cases in students, stopping the spread before it hit the classroom.

“Rapid antigen testing is entirely safe and effective for children over three years of age,” she said.

“We strongly encourage all school communities to undertake the free twice-weekly tests to protect themselves and their whole school communities.”

The state government last month unveiled its plan to deliver RATs to schools.

Under the plan rapid antigen testing would be in place for at least the first four weeks of term one.

Education Minister James Merlino this week said the government had not yet made a call on whether it would wrap up surveillance testing after four weeks or continue it, with the decision under discussion.

The government announced the expansion of the voluntary education surveillance testing program, with free rapid antigen tests to be available to all children aged three to five attending early childhood education services.

Originally published as Government strongly encourages RAT use in schools after school parents question safety