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SYDNEY: Children in some Australian states began returning to school on Monday (May 11) after a prolonged break due to COVID-19, as the rate of new infections in the country continued to decline.
Students in New South Wales, the most populous state and the northern state of Queensland began to return to school on a limited basis to decrease the risk of spreading the disease, state leaders said.
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The NSW government said it has delivered thousands of liters of soap and hand sanitizer to schools, as well as personal protective equipment and temperature monitors. Class sizes will be reduced and activities will involve minimal physical contact between students, many of whom have not attended school since mid-March.
“I know this is a great relief for families,” NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian told journalists in Sydney.
“It is a great relief to the state government because we know how important it is for students to receive that teaching face to face,” he added.
Seniors, whose exams were interrupted by the virus response, would attend at least three days a week in class, Berejiklian said, with the plan to return to class full time for all students by the end of May.
READ: Australia’s Largest State to Ease COVID-19 Blockade May 15
NSW has suffered about 45 percent of the country’s 6,941 confirmed cases and 97 deaths. But he has said he will begin easing some restrictions on personal movement later this week, as the rate of new infections remains low.
The state registered just one new case in the 24 hours through Monday morning, out of 13 new cases nationwide.
Australia’s second most populous state, Victoria, has asked parents to keep their children home if possible until the middle of the year and plans to give an update on its social distancing measures on Monday.
After giving a three-stage plan on Friday to ease restrictions on the Australian domestic movement in July, state and federal officials will meet on Monday to discuss ways to deal with the risks of crowds on public transport as businesses they begin to reopen, the main doctor in the country. officer said over the weekend.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Nick Coatsworth said Australians would have to take responsibility for enforcing their own social distancing measures, as well as local businesses and operators, to prevent a second wave of infections.
“A (second) wave across the country is unlikely, but it is possible if we go out and mix too much,” Coatsworth told Channel Nine television.
“We want people to go out, for stores to reopen, but they have to do it responsibly.”
Australia has largely avoided the high number of victims of COVID-19 from other countries after rapidly introducing national stay-at-home orders and border closures, including the closure of interstate borders.
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