Dear parent/carer
As you may be aware, the State Government has announced that Western Australia will move to very high caseload settings from 12.01am Thursday 10 March.
We continue to follow the latest WA Health advice.
DEFINITIONS:
Students are considered close contacts if they are:
A household member or intimate partner of a person with COVID-19 who has had contact with them during their infectious period (are considered to be a household contact); or
- Someone who has had close personal contact/interaction with a person with COVID-19 during their infectious period, including:
- At least 15 minutes face to face contact where a mask was not worn by the exposed person and the person with COVID-19; or
- Greater than two hours within a small room or a classroom environment with a person with COVID-19 during their infectious period, where masks have been removed for this period by the exposed person and the person with COVID-19 (note: others wearing masks in this scenario would not be a contact); or
- Someone who is directed by WA Health that they are a close contact.
An asymptomatic person means they have no COVID-19 symptoms.
THE CHANGE IN THE NEW VERY HIGH CASELOAD SETTINGS FROM 12.01AM THURSDAY 10 MARCH:
Under this very high caseload setting, students who are an asymptomatic close personal contact (this excludes those who are deemed to be household close contacts) may now:
- continue attending school;
- attend before school care or after school care;
- attend school-based sporting or cultural training, practice, or events organised through the school and held immediately before or after school at their school; and
- travel between the student’s usual place of residence and their school.
Students that are and remain asymptomatic and are identified as a close personal contact, should be tested on Day 1 and Day 6 (if a PCR test) or Day 7 (if a RAT) while they remain asymptomatic. This specific arrangement does not apply to children who are ‘household close contacts’ or who are experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms.
HOUSEHOLD CLOSE CONTACTS:
If a member of your household is COVID-19 positive, then the whole household are deemed household close contacts and the testing and isolation protocols apply. If your child is unwell, they should stay at home and get tested.
Household close contacts that are asymptomatic should still quarantine for seven days and get tested.
CONTINUITY OF LEARNING:
As always, our priority is to continue face-to-face learning. If your child is required to isolate, they will have access to school resources via Connect or the Learning from Home Department of Education WA resources.
If your child’s teacher is required to isolate, your child may have a different teacher for periods of time. Our arrangements have already been shared with our community to enable classrooms teaching to remain a priority.
For more information on very high caseload protocols, visit wa.gov.au. Thank you for your understanding as we take the necessary steps to keep our school safe and open for learning. Please also refer to the information summary infographic from WA Government.
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact the school on 9797 4400.
DOMENIC CAMERA
PRINCIPAL
10 March 2022
