Victorian school students will be tested twice a week with rapid antigen tests to "cut chains of transmission" as school returns.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The state government confirmed all students will be back on day one for term one, with millions of rapid tests to be distributed to schools and early childhood centres.
The twice-weekly testing, for all students, will be in place for at least the first four weeks of term one, in line with New South Wales.
Students and staff at specialist schools will be required to self-test five times per week.
All school and early childhood staff must have their third vaccine dose by February 25 if eligible, or within three months and two weeks of receiving a second dose, to continue working in education settings, a media release states.
The state government has also classified education staff as critical workers - allowing household contacts to voluntarily continue working if they are asymptomatic and return daily negative rapid antigen tests.
The state government has also completed its ventilation improvement program, with more than 51,000 air purifiers to be delivered by the first day of term.
IN THE NEWS
Mask wearing will continue, with students in Grade 3 and above required to wear masks - although they will not be required outdoors. Teachers will be required to wear masks at all times when not actively teaching or communicating with students.
More than 30 million masks will also be delivered to schools, including N95s and child-sized surgical masks.
Schools and kindergartens will be required to inform staff, parents and carers when there is a positive case and will provide advice on any steps families are required to take - remote learning will be a "last resort", the media release states.
MORE TO COME
Have you signed up to The Courier's variety of news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in Ballarat.
