Cases at St Augustine's grow, other schools given advice

Principal Joe Quinn said in a letter to parents he had been notified by the Department of Health of the cases.

All students and staff who were onsite from last Wednesday to Monday the 18^th are considered primary close contacts.

"As per advice from the Department of Health all students and staff are required to get tested and isolate until further advice is given from the Department of Health," Mr Quinn said.

"Family members of primary close contacts are allowed to continue to go to work and are not under quarantine restrictions unless you or your child develop symptoms or test positive to COVID-19.

"St Augustine's School will remain closed until further notice to ensure that our school facilities can safely open for students and staff at the end of the quarantine period.

"There will be no onsite learning for students and no staff will be onsite during the quarantine period.

"I understand this news will be concerning for many of you. I want to assure you we are doing everything we can to ensure the health and safety of our whole school community."

In a letter to the school community at Wodonga Middle Years College's Huon Campus, executive principal Vern Hilditch said the school had been advised of "reported cases of COVID-19 within our school community".

"I would like to reassure you that we took immediate action as soon as we became aware of the situation and sought advice from the Department of Education and Training and the Department of Health," he said.

"The Department of Education and Training has advised us that no action is required at this stage due to the length of time since the person who was confirmed to have COVID-19 was onsite.

"Our school has also been undertaking its daily cleaning including sanitising all high-touch points throughout the school.

"This has been endorsed by the Department of Health.

"All close contacts have been identified and contacted by the school today, and this information will be forwarded to Department of Health via Department of Education."

IN OTHER NEWS:

Murray High School principal Norman Johnson-Meader said the school again would not have anyone on site today.

"As you are aware, the NSW Department of Education has been advised by NSW Health that a member of our school community has tested positive for COVID-19," he said.

"Our school was made non-operational Sunday 17 October, 2021 and will be non-operational again, Tuesday, 19 October, 2021 for the on-site attendance of staff and students to allow time for contact tracing and cleaning.

"The safety and well-being of our staff and students is of paramount importance to us at all times. As such we will continue to work closely with NSW Health to ensure that all necessary health advice is adhered to.

"While we recognise this will be disruptive and inconvenient for families, it is important that we follow NSW Health advice and take all necessary precautions to minimise the risk of further transmission to support our community.

"Thank you for your ongoing support."

There are already considerable wait times at Wodonga testing clinics, with residents beginning to queue at the walk-in Smythe Street Clinic as early as 6.30am.

Testing clinics today are: