Public Health advice has been clear and consistent throughout the pandemic – at both a national and state level – our schools are safe, and classrooms are the best place for students.
I am very disappointed in the Greens commentary as Leader of the Greens, Ms O’Connor, continues to whip up as much fear and anxiety as possible with her misleading public statements.
We predicted the return of school could see a rise in case numbers and that is why, as part of our COVID-19 in Schools Plan, we implemented a range of measures prior to the beginning of the school year, including air purifiers, ventilation modifications, use of outdoor learning environments, masks for secondary students and extensive Rapid Antigen Tests available for staff and students.
I thank every one of our schools and colleges, who have worked so hard to prepare for the return of the school year, and commend all our school staff across all sectors of education for the terrific job they are doing under challenging circumstances in providing our children with a safe learning environment.
Public Health is working closely with the two government schools and five independent/catholic schools affected by cases to ensure the continuity of learning for our students and, should we see a further increase in cases, the Department of Education and Department of Health are standing ready to support schools as necessary per our COVID Safety in School Plan.
There has not been a significant increase in positive cases among 5–19-year old since school commenced and Ms O’Connor’s ongoing attempts to pitch Tasmanians schools as unsafe is not just wrong, but it’s damaging to the welfare of our children who deserve the best chance at a great education.
Importantly, Tasmanian parents have responded to our calls to bring their children forward and vaccinate. Our 5–11-year-old vaccination rates are nation-leading with over 60 per cent of eligible children having had their first dose.
Ms O’Connor also seems to forget the fact that the very large majority of students in high school are fully protected against COVID. Tasmanians aged 12 – 15 years have reached exceptionally high rates of vaccination with 86.5 per cent having one dose, and 78.7 per cent fully vaccinated.
Tasmania’s strong border reopening plan and high vaccination rates are serving the State well and confidence has returned across our community.
The evidence overwhelmingly shows that the Omicron strain is much milder and less severe than we’ve seen with other strains. This means that the majority of people with COVID-19 are in good health and capable of caring for themselves in their suitable premises – and our lower-than-expected hospitalisation rates are direct evidence of this.