Closing schools across New South Wales could increase the spread of coronavirus by putting students out into the community in a more widespread manner, the secretary of the NSW Department of Education, Mark Scott, says.The NSW Department of Education will be sending coronavirus advice to schools this weekendSchools will advised to consider tactics such as staggering recess and lunch breaks
The department will be sending advice to schools over the weekend about managing the outbreak, but Mr Scott said the mass closure of schools was not necessarily something that would stem the growth of infections. "If you just shut the schools, the kids are all down at the shopping centre or at the playground or at the movies, or perhaps being minded by grandparents or others — that may not actually be helping to limit the speed of the spread of the virus in the community," he said."At the moment the advice from New South Wales Health is that we need to be managing this well within the school context, but to keep the schools open," he said.
Schools will be asked to consider strategies such as staggering recess and lunch breaks, and decide whether meetings should go ahead.
And what do the experts say? Keep some classrooms open for parents of essential workers, insist everyone else go home
Mark Scott is an idiot!
Where's the duty of care for teachers that are expected to babysit students with no personal protective equipment, while the lethal coronavirus pandemic spreads through the community. Children do not exhibit symptoms at the same level as adults making it harder to detect.
Yes that’s the success story all other countries are reporting 🤦🏻♀️ CloseTheSchools
All guess work. No logic or science.
Is the Government therefore admitting Covid 19 is probably wide spread in schools and keeping schools open is a away of containment? They don't want students in the community because they are not safe?
One of 'Australia's' first managerial responses was to land a plane from Wuhan into Sydney - Go figure! - Perhaps it's time to act for yourself. Exhaust work leave, education is no good if your dead, etc
They will be home gaming in between online lessons
I’ve been told if we keep our kids out of school as a parent we could be in trouble as well ...
Rubbish
he's met kids right? Grots
I'll take my advice from the health specialists thanks, not the secretary of the ed dept.
MWhalan Under the instruction of the Liberal minister for private education no doubt.
Maybe stop listening to Government and start listening to scientists and epidemiologist’s. We’re going to be the next Italy at this rate.
That’s funny😂 Stagger recess & lunch breaks but let kids all mingle together before & after school with all of the parents that have just been in the community all day, & on buses in the morning & afternoon with the rest of the kids from other schools A well thought out policy🙄
OK I read the article and this is bs. He's aware that if the children stay home, so do the parents. Australians can't afford to stay home so the government will foot the bill. Kids don't get as sick but they still carry the virus. Congregate, contract and infect.
What a terrible statement! Looks like NSW education dpmt is only considering loss of money not the health of the states students & teachers. If countries had of not listened to WHO & shut boarders, they wouldn’t be in the diabolical state they are in now! Shut what you can now!
So big gatherings of kids in schools are ok but big gatherings in any other setting is not ok. Let’s not pretend, this is about not disrupting parents working and maintaining GDP - it’s economic madness that will kill ppl STOP IT
What if I told you that, in case of school closure, kids could stay home instead of roaming the streets?
So long as this doesn’t mean that they will sanction or penalise parents for keeping their kids at home.
Thank God PM and Education Muppet are also scientist 🤔
What a disgrace. It’s all about having to keep people at work and not being able to work from home. Gutter comment
If you bury your head in the sand, you will eventually die of asphyxiation! The problem is children spreading the virus. If you cannot understand this basic concept of social distancing in a pandemic, then please read this
Nothing to see here. Move along.
Why do you assume parents are irresponsible? Any sensible person knows that it is the responsibility of everyone to keep themselves and others safe
Just wondering if the teachers are explaining the kids their role in spreading the virus and how to prevent that. This would be a better reason to keep the schools opened.
Yes yes of course . Students & teachers only go from home to school lol . If I said I could fly, people would believe it .😂😂😂why did I get the dumb planet 🙄🙄🙄
I don’t want to take any advice if you are not a qualified health expert. Right now education is not a priority
What is going on!? Is this a joke? Does he think if schools close the children will just run riot in the community? This isnt the 70s!
FFS, this idea of community spread is a myth. It was theorised some years back, but research since has shown it doesn't happen. The research is clear now on one thing though - school closures signifantly delay arrival of peak infections.
And we entrust our kids education to these incompetent idiots?
The person who made the decision has no idea about this virus, better to discuss with healthcare officer in WHO before making decision. Even Trump knows how horrible this disease is!
staythefuckhome SocialDistancingNow CancelEverything COVID19Aus
My God, one day they say something, the next it's the opposite.
Hi whatabout closing Clubs and Pubs in Australia they have a people close to each other. As well as the spirit glasess pockie machines etc.
Just an opinion, and not a trustworthy one. Classrooms make a perfect environment for viruses to spread.
Not much sense it anything in this except to acknowledge that the Chief Medical Officers have all said the children are at least risk and may show few or no symptoms while having the virus. I would have thought that closing the schools would have been an early prevention measure.
piffle
Maybe because virus only affects over 9 year olds
14 days at school in detention.
The Edu department works for the virus. Full stop.
I work at a school.Yesterday a student thought it be funny to sneeze on a few students. He then told them he was waiting to hear back from the doctor about his results as he had been told he might have the Corona virus. The school near us was closed due to a potential case! Scary
'may' being the operative word!
What bullshit. Keep schools open so we don't have to tell kids not to go out? FFS. Grow up
Whaaaat?
This proves that people who make decisions in the Dept of Education have no frickin idea what happens in schools.
Child health should be a parental responsibility, not a school one.
We are happy to Keep our troubles at home. Let pollies go to school in public transport, footy and conferences. Let all poolies get this virus. Hopefully they may make a better decision afterwards.
I think they are one sector that should be kept open as long as is possible. covid19australia
Please look at all the many countries closing schools. China put Wuhan into complete lockdown and has reduced the virus. We need to follow countries who are getting it right. Not risk the lives of students, teachers and the general population based on one country’s theory!!
Guys, guys, chill. Kids don't get them remember? They will only take them home. Them kids will have sniffles and that's about it. See? They don't have coronavorus (adult version) so it's safe. Correct me if I am right. ✌️
If it was advice from the department of health then I’d take that seriously. But it’s not. Go away and stop this absurd misinformation.
WTAF auspol covid19australia
This whole things makes no sense. How the hell will keeping schools open restrict the spread?!?! They're still out and about in the community regardless and it's either risk it in the community or have whole schools (possibly 1000s) contract the virus!!!
And this statement is from the Education Department? Good luck NSW, you are going to have a surge of cases.
There’s crack in the P. House fountain you say?
Ahaa, with statements like this one we have now just found out why the standard of education is dropping in NSW
🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️
Lol what?
coronavirus duttondown auspol Australia - McLaws 'It's hard for individuals to have the greater good in their minds, so I completely understand why China chose that approach.' '...go in early and go in hard' - -
The stupid in that statement is amazing
🤣😭
Obviously the idea of closing schools is that they stay AT HOME with their parents. I agree most australians would be too dumb/selfish/flippant to comply with this so perhaps leaving them in school has merit for the overall population - think I’d prefer my kids were home though..
Listen to the experts please
Right, then education departments everywhere should start daily cleaning and disinfection of hard surfaces. If you’re going to put your OLDER workforce on the front line, like health workers, then provide safety measures like health care systems have 😡
CAN WE PLEASE HAVE SOME CONSiSTENCY IN REPORTING?
I will live on this Joke for the rest of my life 😆
Now I know the government is trying to kill us. It's not like the kids stay at school 24/7...
Huh?
So all nurses and essential service workers should just stay home to care for children?
The problem with the reasoning here is that if schools close many caregivers will need to stay home too. That indirectly slows the virus by reducing commuting and numbers in workplaces. If teachers (who are mostly older than 50) get sick in large numbers, schools will
WTF This is in opposition to all basic scientific and medical advice.
Wrapping my head around this logic...
We’ve found the class clown then...
Parents should not let them hang out at shopping centres or parks, defeats the point does it not. They dont want them hanging out in groups
Are you kidding?! Kids are germy and disgusting.
Another example of leadership failure
Closing schools would mean pulling the rug from under the medical system. All the parents who would otherwise be working in hospitals would have to stop and look after their kids.
Idiot！！！
Those darn kids, best to lump them all together in one spot instead.
Does someone think of how to keep all these kids stay home for a long period? I’m afraid I cannot
... and these people are in charge of educating our children.
If one student comes to school with coronavirus and has classes with 70-80 other students during the day plus 4/5 teachers, eats lunch with a bunch of others, catches public transport with a whole bus load of others, this plan is totally flawed.
Has.... has Mark Scott ever spent time in a kindergarten classroom? 24 kids picking their nose, wiggling loose teeth and touching each other compulsively in a small, enclosed, air-conditioned room is not a preferable virus mitigation environment 🙄
What? So the concern is that if schools are closed, all students will go to shopping center and cinema? Then do online education! Keep all students attend class at home!
Err.... if anyone has actually been a teacher you would know that kids, especially primary, talk right in your face, sneeze on you and even cough on you. - not really better for the community
Well... that’s what happened in Poland. They closed the schools and kids were out in the shopping centers and parks having fun. So now they closed the shopping centers. If only all of us understand how important staying at home is atm.
Another experiment 🧪 in herd immunity strategy on an unknown virus with much potential for collateral damage: 😱☠️💀
God my school doesn’t even have soap in the bathrooms 90% of the time
This Article reveals that supposed *Adults have NO COMMON SENSE Any Surprise that the World is Dumbed Down when a Broadcaster is Spreading Illogical BULL💩 ? auspol
Having once worked for nsw education department, this dumpster fire is not a shock.
🤦♀️
Education department is so funny.
Ignorance!!!
The Education Department said this? I wonder if they talked to the health department before making this statement, because it doesn't seem like it should be coming from them
Parents just need to do what's right and not send the kids to school
Lol
Reading the headline it sounds like trump wrote it lol, story makes a bit more sense though
Wats that sounds like one- of Murdoch's rags
mmmhotbreakfast can u explain.this article by the abc?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! WOW!!! I have no words for this!!!!
what happened to 'listen to the scientists' mantra? Bill Bartell told us we need to close schools days ago...
How? Kids have known poor hygiene skills and show higher fecal shedding of virus than adults.
May? What if may not? Will you take full responsibility for your every word?
What?
Haha nice one.
honk honk
This makes no sense but ok.... then again ABC basically never makes sense.....
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