Schools remain open under mounting pressure on government

The State Government says Tasmanian schools will not yet close, as pressure mounts on leaders to take immediate action to halt the spread of coronavirus.

THE State Government says Tasmanian schools will not yet close, as pressure mounts on leaders to take immediate action to halt the spread of coronavirus.

Premier Peter Gutwein and Public Health Director Mark Veitch said authorities were acting on advice from the Australian Health Principal Protection Committee and that closing schools was not recommended.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced drastic new measures on Sunday night, to stop the spread of the dreaded virus, including the closure of pubs, clubs and casinos, but not schools.

In Tasmania, many parents have already made the decision to keep their children home from school, and the Government has said absence rules do not currently apply.

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But Opposition Leader Rebecca White ramped up calls for protective measures, saying all non-essential services and schools should be closed.

“If we don’t take action quickly, people will die,’’ she said.

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“We need to do this to save lives. Every hour we wait, risks more lives.

“There’s governments across the world who have regretted not taking action early enough and we need to learn from their mistakes.

“It is inevitable that schools will close in Tasmania and the government needs to support parents to plan for what is coming.”

Premier Peter Gutwein and Director of Public Health Dr. Mark Veitch speak at the daily government update on COVID-19. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

But Mr Gutwein said the advice of the AHPPC on schools remaining open was “unchanged”.

“AHPPC has not supported the closure of schools given the lack of evidence of significant disease in children and a lack of reported major disease spreading in schools,’’ Mr Gutwein said.

“Furthermore, the closure of schools poses a major risk to children’s education, their mental health and wellbeing, particularly those from low socio-economic regions where schools provide an excellent environment for nurturing and learning.”

Mr Gutwein also referenced the impact on the workforce of essential services and potential exposure of elderly residents caring for children if schools were closed.

And he said for many children, school was the safest place for them to be.

Dr Veitch said research showed children are not affected by coronavirus as often or as severely as adults.

“Furthermore, they don’t seem to be an important part of community-wide transmission,’’ he said.

While a national approach to close schools has not been adopted, many states are already implementing their own restrictions, including Victoria which has decided to bring forward the school holidays.

Greens MP and epidemiologist Rosalie Woodruff said the mixed messages across the country were confusing and that people needed certainty.

“I can’t imagine the situation can be sustained given what’s happening across the rest of the country,’’ she said.

Dr Woodruff said she was hearing reports of anxiety within the community from parents, teachers and students about the situation.