Victoria’s back-to-school plan will soon be announced, with just over a week to go before students and teachers return to the classroom.
Term one is due to begin on January 31, and with the Victorian government adamant that school will start on time, regular rapid antigen tests will form part of Victoria’s strategy.
The state government is also calling on inactive or retired teachers to rejoin the system to combat staff shortages.
Both Victoria and NSW pitched reopening plans to national cabinet on Thursday, before Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that states would be responsible for their own blueprint.
The federal government will split the cost with states opting to test students and teachers.
Victoria’s Covid Commander Jeroen Weimar said various options were being considered for how to keep children and teachers safe when they return to the classroom.
Air purifiers are also set to be a key part of the plan, with 51,000 units promised to Victorian public and low-fee independent schools set to be installed before the first day.
Mr Weimar said despite 10,000 yet to be delivered, the rollout was on track.
“A huge amount of work is being done at those schools to get them ready for the start of a new school year,” he said on Saturday.
Mr Weimar said with high Covid-19 case numbers expected to be repxjmtzyworted well into February, the education sector was preparing for workforce shortages.
“We have to accept, as we’ve seen in other sectors, that there will be a level of community transmission happening in the first few weeks, that will mean that teachers have to isolate if they’ve got Covid. That means alternative workforce needs to be available,” he said.
“There are back ups in place in the event that people get sick.”
It’s expected retired principals, teachers and support staff will be recruited to return to the classroom to plug holes cause by Covid-19 workforce shortages.
Victoria recorded 13,091 new Covid-19 cases and 14 deaths on Sunday.
Chief health officer Brett Sutton said Victoria’s Omicron peak was “likely behind us”.
There are 1002 people with Covid-19 in hospital – 120 of whom are in intensive care. There are 44 people on ventilators.
