In an open letter to national cabinet, medical professionals – including former deputy chief medical officer Nick Coatsworth and Professor Catherine Bennett – have urged leaders to not delay the start of the school year. “In the third year of the Covid-19 pandemic we now have evidence that it is safe to allow schools to be open for face-to-face learning,” the letter said.“The national cabinet commitment to reopen schools is at risk, however, and needs to be reaffirmed by every jurisdiction, with measures taken to reassure Australian families that schools are safe to return.“As such, we call upon all federal, state and territory governments to recommit to the return to in-person schooling without delay for term 1 2022.”Federal, state and territory leaders will meet on Thursday to discuss a national approach to returning students to the classroom safely. Speaking on Sunrise, Dr Coatsworth said there was “no cause” to delay a return to school. “It is not correct to delay it … parents should be reassured that going back to school will have no impact on the Omicron pandemic curve,” he said.“Many kids have already had it, so there is no cause to delay schools going back.”The education union last week said any plan must have the best interests of students and teachers first. “There are major challenges coming towards schools across the country as a result of the Omicron wave of the pandemic,” AEU federal president Correna Haythorpe said.“These include resourcing, occupational health and safety, the return to face-to-face learning, management of staff shortages and access to appropriate and consistent tests and testing protocols in the likely event of exposure to the virus.”The union is calling on the government to grant priority access to RATs and PCR tests to teachers and to develop isolation protocols for staff shortages.
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