SCHOOLS in Leeton shire remain open on Monday after the state government announced it was monitoring the current Coronavirus pandemic.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
However, the NSW Department of Education is introducing proactive measures to limit the impact of COVID-19 in our schools.
Speaking exclusively to The Irrigator on Monday, NSW Minister for Education and Early Childhood Learning Sarah Mitchell said the department was keeping a close eye on the situation.
"At this point we are closely following the advice from (NSW) Health, which is that schools should remain open ... that's a view that has come about not just from NSW Health, but all of the chief health officers right around the state and federally," she said.
MORE NEWS
"There's been an agreement that it is in the best interest of the community.
"We have the practice in NSW if there is a positive case (of COVID-19) that affects the school community that we do close that school for at least a day to enable health to do contract tracing for any close contact of the infected person, to clean the school.
"We've had three schools in the state where we have done that so far and we will continue to adopt that practice.
"It's an ever-evolving health situation. It's being addressed and monitored on a daily basis.
"I'm speaking with Brad Hazzard (the NSW Minister for Health) multiple times a day. We will keep doing that.
"If things need to change they will, but at this point schools are operating and open for business as usual."
While schools remain open, they are having to adopt social distancing measures, which requires them to cancel assemblies, excursions, travel, some events and conferences.
This has meant the cancellation of several events at schools in the shire.
The Murrumbidgee Local Health District said on Monday there were no confirmed cases of coronavirus in the Murrumbidgee region.
What has been cancelled or postponed so far (as taken from school Facebook pages):
- The Annual General Meeting of the Parkview P&C Association has been postponed.
- Parkview Public School's whole school assembly was cancelled on Monday.
- Leeton-Narrandera-Griffith Rugby League Trials (Monday) - cancelled for this week.
- LNPSSA Soccer Championships (Tuesday) - cancelled for this week.
- Western Riverina PSSA AFL Trials (Thursday) - cancelled for this week.
- Leeton High School has informed its community all sporting competitions, including CHS carnivals, knockouts and gala days have been 'temporarily ceased' until further notice. This includes the following that were scheduled for this week league tag gala day, open girls basketball gala day, open girls soccer gala day and the NSW CHS swimming championships.
- Leeton Public School whole school assembly cancelled.
- Leeton Public School Friday kindergarten to year 2 assembly - cancelled.
- Leeton Public School student-led, three way conferences - postponed.
- St Joseph's Primary School - Junior Joey's cancelled until further notice.
- From Yanco Agricultural High School: The CAPA excursion planned to Sydney on Tuesday 17 March and Wednesday 18 March has been cancelled. The school will refund all costs of the excursion. NSW Health was scheduled to meet on Monday to discuss boarding schools. YAHS will remain open until a decision is made.