Three high schools across Sydney and Melbourne have suspended classes today after students and teachers displayed coronavirus symptoms.
At St Patrick’s Marist College in Sydney’s northeast, two Year 10 students tested positive for the corinavirus and are believed to have come into contact with up to 50 others, who are now self-isolating.
Willoughby Girls High School will also be closed today after a Year 7 girl tested positive for the virus.
“This is likely to be the new norm,” NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said.
“We have established now a clear orthodoxy. If a child or a staff member or any other person within a school is found to have the COVID-19 virus, then effectively a breather will be taken and a day out will be the immediate requirement.”
In Melbourne, Carey Baptist Grammar School in the city’s east will also close today after an adult developed coronavirus symptoms.
The adult has not yet received test results but had been in close contact with a confirmed coronavirus case, and the school is closing as a precaution.
“The health and safety of our community is our first priority,” Kew campus Principal Jonathan Walter said in an email to parents.
Amid the closures, Sydney’s Epping Boys High has reopened after a 16-year-old student tested positive for the coronavirus last week.
A total of 69 students and staff who had come into contact with the pupil are currently undergoing self-isolation for two weeks.
Authorities are asking students and parents not to panic and are only contacting those who may have had contact with confirmed cases.
