Twice a week RATs planned for students

The Victorian government is committing to having all of its schools return to face-to-face learning for the first day of term one. With fears the Omicron variant will seriously impact staffing levels and student health early in the school term, the Andrews government has unveiled a four-week approach to managing COVID.

The plan is near-identical to the one being introduced in New South Wales, with Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews working closely with NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet on the new COVID settings. Here’s how school will look for Victorian students and staff this term.

Students and staff to use self-testing surveillance regime

The government has secured 14 million rapid tests to be delivered to schools and early childhood centres in the coming weeks. More than 6.6 million tests will be delivered in the first week of school, with delivery trucks rolling out from Sunday morning.

The RATs will form the backbone of a self-testing regime designed to stop widespread outbreaks at schools. Primary and secondary students and staff will be recommended to test themselves twice weekly, while students and staff at specialist schools will be recommended to test five times a week.

The testing will be voluntary, with the responsibility of reporting results to the Department of Health and to schools falling on parents and guardians. Schools will distribute RATs to parents and families, with the first deliveries being made today.

Amid continued RAT shortages, the government made assurances that it had all the rapid antigen tests needed to deliver on its back-to-school plan. Supply numbers will be reviewed by the government at the end of the four-week plan.