Coronavirus update: Prime Minister says schools to stay open for now

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says Australian schools should remain open for the time being, despite growing calls for them to shut to slow the spread of the coronavirus

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said schools will remain open for now. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch)

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says Australian schools should remain open for the time being, despite growing calls for them to shut to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

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Speaking after a special national cabinet meeting today to decide what course of action the nation should take to slow the spread of the disease, Mr Morrison said shutting schools down would do more harm than good.

“People are naturally anxious about the issues of schools,” he said.

“As the British chief medical officer observed over the last couple of days, the issue of wide scale closure of schools, and it may seem counter-intuitive, but the advice is this could be a very negative thing in terms of impacting on how these (epidemic) curves operate, for two reasons.

“When you take children out of school and put them back in the broader community, the ability for them to potentially engage with others increases that risk. That’s the understanding we had.

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“Also issues of herd immunity which relate to children. The other is the disruption impact that could have and put at great risk the availability of critical workers such as nurses, doctors and others who are essential in the community because they would have to remain home and look after their children.

“So while it may seem counterintuitive, there (are) very good reasons why you would not be moving to broadscale closures of schools. That could make the situation worse, not better.

“The states and territories are not moving in that direction.”

The PM said the matter would be reassessed on Friday.