Free rapid antigen tests to get NSW children to school on time

Students will get free rapid antigen tests, as the NSW government ramps up its quest to get them back to school on the first day of term.

The NSW government is determined to have students back in the classroom on the first day of term later this month despite surging cases of Covid, with Premier Dominic Perrottet prioritising schools for millions of free rapid antigen tests in a bid to manage caseloads.

Mr Perrottet will take his “back-to-school plan” to national cabinet this week, hoping to get agreement from other premiers at least on general principles, but other states have indicated a more cautious approach.

In Victoria, Acting Premier Jacinta Allan said the state government could change plans for children to return to the classroom on January 31, but the current intention was still a return to face-to-face learning.

Queensland’s school year will be pushed back by up to two weeks to avoid sending students back into classrooms during the expected peak of the Omicron wave, as modelling showed it was expected to reach its zenith in the state in late January and early February, about a week later than in NSW and Victoria.

Plans to return students to the classroom across the country have been shaken by delays in vaccinations for 5-11-year-olds. The rollout begins on Monday but many GPs are unable to get supplies and hundreds of appointments have been cancelled.

No children will have been double-vaccinated by the time schools go back, due to the eight- week gap between doses, and health experts fear some children will not have the first jab in time.

Mr Perrottet said the arrival of 100 million rapid antigen tests in the state would be the key to returning students to school, with the tests expected to be required for both teachers and students.

The Premier predicted some “bumps along the way” but said he was committed to reopening schools on time, with details of the plan to be released this week.

“There will be challenges, there will be hurdles … as we open up schools, but the alternative is to keep schools closed and we will not do that,” he said.

NSW Teachers Federation president Angelo Gavrielatos has urged caution in deciding when to return to school.

However, NSW Teachers Federation president Angelo Gavrielatos said all options should be open when it came to deciding if the start of school should be delayed. “It may be necessary, if the numbers continue to climb, everything has to remain on the table as we continue to look at the possible scenarios and plans required to ensure that risk is mitigated,” he said.

“We have been banging on about the need for an efficient rollout for the 5-11-year-old program since October and here we are on the eve of when it’s supposed to commence, and parents are being notified that their appointments are being cancelled. This is unacceptable.”

Mr Gavrielatos said that based on what had happened in the UK and US, when schools opened amid skyrocketing case numbers, closures would be inevitable.

“What we are looking at with the department is aimed at mitigating risks through vaccinations, air quality, RAT tests and masks, and also a number of scenarios where, as a result of the rapidly increasing rates of infections, we’ll see high levels of absenteeism at schools (effectively) rendering schools non-operational,” he said.

In Victoria, Ms Allan declined to speculate on what might prompt the state government to pause return-to-school plans. “We do need to make sure we are reviewing. Whether it’s about school settings … or health settings, we are obviously very mindful of the epidemiology, case numbers and pressure on our health system in terms of what commonsense measures we have taken or may need to take.”

Queensland schools will reopen on February 7, instead of January 24, although children of essential workers will be able to attend from the earlier date.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said it would be too risky to send students back to school while the community spread of the virus was so high. The delay would also give students more time to get vaccinated.

“This is a commonsense move to avoid students heading back to primary or secondary school just as the rapidly rising number of Omicron cases in Queensland hits its peak,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

To accommodate the late return, the school year will be extended by a week, finishing on December 16 instead of December 9. While most students will be given the two weeks as extra holidays, students in years 11 and 12 were expected to use remote learning from January 31.

Additional reporting: Angelica Snowden, Charlie Peel