Epping Boys High School in Sydney’s northwest will remain closed today after a 16-year-old student was diagnosed with coronavirus (Covid-19).
The ABC reports the boy is receiving medical treatment, while other students and staff have been advised to self-isolate over the weekend.
Speaking to The Today Show this morning, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the boy’s condition is “not bad, but he is not well.”
The public school, which has roughly 1100 students, is the first in NSW to close due to a Covid-19 infection.
In a statement, the NSW Departments of Health and Education said authorities and some school staff will use today to determine who may have come into contact with the boy in recent days, and if anyone else at the school has been infected.
“The one day closure will enable the school community and health officials to work through a contact and containment strategy,” the statement reads.
The school is slated to provide further information over the weekend.
In a statement obtained by the ABC, Deputy secretary of Education Murat Dizdar said authorities are investigating how the boy contracted the virus.
The Year 11 student is the 25th person in the state confirmed to have the virus.
One woman, a 95-year-old resident of a Sydney aged care facility, died of the illness on Tuesday, becoming Australia’s second recorded death from Covid-19.
Earlier this week, the NSW Department of Education advised public school principals that all overseas excursions were to be cancelled or postponed on account of the virus.
While the number of infections nationwide now stands at 55, Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy yesterday said there was still no reason for Australians to panic or drastically alter their day-to-day activities.
“At the moment, and I’ve said this on many occasions too, there is no reason to put a mask on when you are walking around the shops, there is no reason to stop going to football matches or community activities, there is no reason to denude the shelves of lavatory paper in the supermarkets,” he said.
If you have any concerns, you can call the coronavirus information line on 1800 020 080. If you have health concerns, you can call healthdirect on 1800 022 222.
