Coronavirus Australia: PM schools teachers, says go back to class

Scott Morrison wants schools urgently reopened. And he’s taken a swipe at teachers’ unions.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison gives a coronavirus update at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra on Friday. Mick Tsikas/AAP

Australia’s top medical adviser has declared classrooms pose no risk of spreading the coronavirus, and even says there is no need for students to follow social distancing, prompting Scott Morrison to urge the states and teachers to ­urgently reopen schools across the nation.

The Prime Minister took a swipe at teachers’ unions, saying workers — from bus drivers to supermarket staff — were showing up each day at work despite the risk of contracting COVID-19.

He said the risk for teachers was “not in the classroom; their risk is in the staff­room”.

“I mean, we’ve got people who are going to work in supermarkets every day,” he told Sky News. “We’ve got people who are doing jobs all over the community, driving buses, and they’re doing great work and they’re turning up to work to do those things.”

Mr Morrison’s insistence that classrooms were safe drew a mixed reaction from teachers’ ­unions, with some indicating they might drop their hardline stance against schools soon returning to normal operations.

However, unions in some states continued to urge families not to send children to school.

Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy’s advice to the national cabinet on the risk of classroom transmission came as he revealed he wanted a large increase in the number of daily coronavirus tests in Australia in a bid to stay on top of the pandemic.

The national cabinet on Friday ­released 10 principles to make workplaces safe. It is focusing on strategies to get people back playing sport. Mr Morrison declared that medical evidence showed students were not required to keep 1.5m from each other when studying in class. “The 4sq m rule, and the 1.5m distancing between students during classroom activities, is not ­appropriate and not ­required,” he said. “I can’t be more clear than that.”

Professor Murphy revealed that NSW Health had done a large study ­including testing children with no virus symptoms and found no ­evidence they were transmitting the disease.

“This is quite different from ­influenza, where we know they are sometimes super-spreaders and can spread the virus,” he said.

“Most children who have contracted the virus in Australia have contracted it in the family home … not contracted it in the school ­environment.”

A comprehensive internat­ional study by Tony Blair’s Institute for Global Change argues that full lockdowns are unsustainable. It says that once new virus cases are falling in Britain, schools should reopen first. “Children are at very low risk, and economic and education costs of school closure are high,” the report says.

Queensland Teachers Union president Kevin Bates indicated he was conciliatory to the idea of a gradual reopening of schools, saying his union would consult with the state government and examine the findings of the NSW study.

“We really need some more ­information on why schools are different from any other venue where the 4sq m rule is still a ­requirement,” Mr Bates said.

Unions have been adamant that social distancing, which would allow for only 12 students to be in a standard-sized classroom, was necessary to ensure the safety of their members.

Mr Bates said the QTU executive would meet on Monday to consider the union’s reaction to new studies showing there was a low risk of virus transmission from children in the classroom.

AEU Victorian president Meredith Peace said: “It is ­bizarre that the Prime Minister has been ­telling us for six weeks how important social distancing is but today he has basically said that it no longer matters for students or teachers.

“Throughout this pandemic we’ve been worried that many seem to be neglecting the health and safety of teachers, and these comments only reinforce that. While we’re as keen as anyone to return to normal life, including a return to school, we must plan that return carefully to ensure the ­safety of both staff and students.”

Queensland Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said it “might be possible” for schools to return to normal by June 1, a time frame raised by federal Education Minister Dan Tehan. But, speaking ­before Mr Morrison said social-distancing rules were not necessary in classrooms, Dr Young said more needed to be done before ­restrictions on school attendance could be lifted.

The Queensland government on May 15 is due to review its decision to close classrooms to all students other than those from families of essential workers and vulnerable children.

In Western Australia, classes will open for all government school students from Wednesday although attendance will not be enforced.

State School Teachers Union president Pat Byrne, who has described the McGowan government’s decision as an experiment that will lead to chaos, was on Friday encouraging parents to use the stay-home option.

“Our position is that parents should still exercise their choice to keep children home, if they are in a position to do so,” she said.

West Australian Education Minister Sue Ellery welcomed the national cabinet agreement but said it did not alter the McGowan government’s decision to make classroom learning voluntary, with a review after three weeks. Parents of students in Years 11 and 12 are being told children’s attendance is “strongly ­encouraged”.

The NSW Teachers Federation declined to comment. NSW schools are due to return for one day a week from May 11, the third week of term two, with a staggered progression to full-time learning as social restrictions are eased.

The Australian Medical ­Association backed plans for South Australian students to ­return to school next week.

Additional reporting: Matthew Denholm, Ewin Hannan