Tasmanian parents urged to contact school over COVID anxiety: Jeremy Rockliff | The Examiner

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Parents anxious to send their unvaccinated children to school for the first time have been urged to contact the school directly to find out how their school will protect their children from COVID-19. With about a week left before the start of the school year, parents have expressed concern that they will not be able to have their children vaccinated because they will not be five years old until well after the start of the school year. Parents and caregivers of immunocompromised children have also expressed concern about safety measures. Acting Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff said on Tuesday work was progressing well and more was being done to prepare classrooms for a COVID-19 learning environment. However, when asked about Kinder pupils, Mr Rockliff said parents and guardians should contact the school directly. RELATED: Statewide COVID Vaccine Blitz Slow Start An infrastructure upgrade blitz to renovate classrooms to allow for better ventilation and upgrades to outdoor learning areas was also In progress. Mr. Rockliff did not confirm a deadline for the work. To help ease the anxiety of parents and caregivers, the state government has started releasing COVID safety packs for families, including two rapid antigen tests, five masks and COVID information sheets. The fact sheets contain information for parents and guardians on how to talk to your children about COVID-19 and safety measures such as hand hygiene, social distancing and masks. READ MORE: Thousands eligible for booster injection after window shortened Kits distributed from Tuesday; however, Labour’s Education spokesman Josh Willie said it was too little, too late, from the government. “How is it possible that Peter Gutwein and Mr. Rockliff asked parents to show up at schools to collect their packs at the same time as they collect textbooks, but these packs lack the most vital ingredient and most important,” Mr Wyllie said. “When will rapid antigen tests be available for families looking to ensure their children can return to school safely next week?” “Parents, teachers and students are worried about going back to school and they want solid evidence from their government that schools are ready – not just empty insurance and empty packets.” Northern Tasmanian mother Kate Mackrell said her children were prepared and ready to return to school. READ MORE: Median house price in Tasmania hits $600,000 in 2021 Her two daughters, Emily and Isabel, received their COVID shots on Tuesday and Miss Mackrell said they were prepared with all the information they needed. “They have already had to adapt [to hand hygiene and masks etc] thanks to their sport that they play outside of school, so they didn’t really have any questions,” she said. Pop-up clinics will be opened in regional areas to encourage parents and caregivers to show up and get their children vaccinated. He said the pop-up vaccination clinics were to help get vaccines to areas where there were fewer GPs and other healthcare professionals, and the clinics would help support the rollout of childhood vaccinations Pharmacists were deployed to Tasmania to provide adult boosters, which freed up state health workers to administer the pediatric doses to children. Activity in Tasmania’s emergency services examined in new report However, Mr Webster said parents should make sure they also tell their children about other measures, including hand hygiene, rapid antigen tests and social distancing. An education department spokesperson said the department is working on a multi-faceted approach to help students return to school safely. “Parents and guardians can provide written medical advice if their child is medically compromised, after which they should then talk to their school about how their child can continue to be supported in their learning,” they said. “The department will continue other COVID safety measures such as face masks, physical distancing, ventilation, outdoor learning, hygiene practices, provision of rapid antigen tests, cleaning, grouping of cohorts and safe management of the site.” WHAT DO YOU THINK? SEND US A LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

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Parents anxious to send their unvaccinated children to school for the first time have been urged to contact the school directly to find out how their school will protect their children from COVID-19.

With about a week left before the start of the school year, parents have expressed concern that they will not be able to have their children vaccinated because they will not be five years old until well after the start of the school year. Parents and caregivers of immunocompromised children have also expressed concern about safety measures.

Acting Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff said on Tuesday work was progressing well and more was being done to prepare classrooms for a COVID-19 learning environment. However, when asked about Kinder pupils, Mr Rockliff said parents and guardians should contact the school directly.

An infrastructure upgrade blitz to renovate classrooms to allow for better ventilation and improvements to outdoor learning areas was also underway. Mr. Rockliff did not confirm a deadline for the work.

To help ease the anxiety of parents and caregivers, the state government has started releasing COVID safety packs for families, including two rapid antigen tests, five masks and COVID information sheets.

The fact sheets contain information for parents and guardians on how to talk to your children about COVID-19 and safety measures such as hand hygiene, social distancing and masks.

Acting Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff with the school’s COVID information pack.

The kits were distributed from Tuesday; however, Labour’s Education spokesman Josh Willie said it was too little, too late, from the government.

“How is it possible that Peter Gutwein and Mr. Rockliff asked parents to show up at schools to collect their packs at the same time as they collect textbooks, but these packs lack the most vital ingredient and most important,” Mr Wyllie said.

“When will rapid antigen tests be available for families looking to ensure their children can return to school safely next week?”

“Parents, teachers and students are worried about going back to school and they want solid evidence from their government that schools are ready – not just empty insurance and empty packets.”

Northern Tasmanian mother Kate Mackrell said her children were prepared and ready to return to school.

Her two daughters, Emily and Isabel, received their COVID shots on Tuesday and Miss Mackrell said they were prepared with all the information they needed.

“They have already had to adapt [to hand hygiene and masks etc] through their sport that they do outside of school, so they didn’t really have any questions,” she said.

The vaccination rate for children aged 5 to 11 is 50%, but COVID Emergency Coordination Commander Dale Webster said the government intended to raise that figure to 100%.

He said the pop-up vaccination clinics were to help get vaccines to areas where there were fewer GPs and other healthcare professionals, and the clinics would help support the rollout of childhood vaccinations.

Pharmacists were deployed to Tasmania to provide adult boosters, which freed up state health workers to administer the pediatric doses to children.

However, Mr Webster said parents should make sure they also talk to their children about other measures, including hand hygiene, rapid antigen tests and social distancing.

An education department spokesperson said the department is working on a multi-faceted approach to help students return to school safely.

“Parents and guardians can provide written medical advice if their child is medically compromised, after which they should then talk to their school about how their child can continue to be supported in their learning,” they said.

“The department will continue other COVID safety measures such as face masks, physical distancing, ventilation, outdoor learning, hygiene practices, provision of rapid antigen tests, cleaning, grouping of cohorts and safe management of the site.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK? SEND US A LETTER TO THE EDITOR: