Daily News Round-up

 

MONDAY, January 31

Children in Queensland won’t need to be regularly tested for COVID-19 when they return to school next Monday.

That’s one of the main points of the government’s back-to-school plan, which covers the first four weeks of the new school year, from February 7 to March 4.

In a special report the ABC wrote that the plan includes new protocols for wearing masks, and what to do if your child becomes ill. Here’s what you need to know.

The detailed report posed and answered a string of questions:  

Does my child need to wear a mask?

If they’re in high school, yes they do. Masks are also “strongly encouraged” for children in years 3 to six. 

Teachers can remove their masks to teach, and children won’t need to wear one when they’re seated.

Masks will be available at school for children who don’t have their own. 

Do I need to give my child a rapid antigen test?

Not unless they’re showing symptoms. Unlike New South Wales and Victoria, there’ll be no requirement for parents to regularly test their children.

Regular testing for school children isn’t among the advice issued by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) to state and federal governments, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.

“There is no health advice by the Chief Health Officer or by AHPPC that staff or students need regular testing,” she said.

“On top of that, many parents have raised with me concerns about how they would administer these tests to their children. So, I think we’ve reached a good middle point.”

That middle point is that rapid antigen tests will be made available to parents if their children show symptoms.

If parents aren’t comfortable administering the test, they can take their child to a state testing clinic, where they’ll receive priority treatment so they don’t have to queue.

If children are at home and they need a rapid antigen test, Ms Palaszczuk said one will be provided.

“For example, you might have a friend down the road and they are able to get the test from the school and drop it into your letterbox,” she said.

The government estimates that about 750,000 tests will be needed over the first four weeks of school, and it’s confident there will be enough supplies.

What if my child becomes sick at school?

If your child starts showing COVID-19 symptoms at school, they’ll be isolated until a parent or guardian arrives to collect them.

Their parents or carer will be given a rapid antigen test to administer at home — or they will be able to take their child to a testing clinic. 

If the test is negative, the student can return to school. A positive test will require them to isolate for seven days and follow other guidance from Queensland Health.

If your children shows symptoms outside school, the message is simple.

“If you are sick, stay at home. Don’t go to school,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“Any positive cases should be reported to the school and Queensland Health.”

Children who are close contacts of positive cases will also need to isolate, in line with the current guidelines.

Independent Education Union Queensland Branch president Terry Burke welcomed the government’s plan but said there needed to be explicit procedures in place about what to do in the event of a positive COVID-19 case.

“It is critical there are explicit procedures for the notification of a COVID-19 positive contact, how parents will be notified, and, how the impact of such a diagnosis of staff or student/s will be managed,” he said.

“Staff should not be placed in the situation of conducting tests with students.”

Will schools close if there’s an outbreak?

Education Minister Grace Grace said closing schools will be a “last resort”.

She added that there’s no one-size-fits-all policy and any action taken will be in response to the size of the outbreak and its potential impact.

The government said all schools have access to carbon dioxide monitors to measure ventilation, and if ventilation issues can’t be solved by opening windows or with air conditioning, air purifiers will be provided.

Will access to schools be restricted?

Yes, schools will aim to limit the number of outsiders allowed within school grounds, though there will be some exceptions for vulnerable and very young children.

For example, parents and carers will be allowed to take their children into kindergartens and facilities offering early-childhood development programs.

And parents with children in prep and year one will be allowed onto school grounds.

“From year two upwards, we are asking parents please acknowledge what the school puts in place about drop-off zones and limit your presence on school sites for the first four weeks,” Ms Grace said.

For the next four weeks, school camps, excursions, assemblies and other large gatherings will be cancelled or postponed.

What if teachers get sick?

In Queensland, all teachers, staff and volunteers in private and state schools must be fully vaccinated.

Ms Grace said the current vaccination rate among teachers is 98 per cent.

The education department has a “very comprehensive staff management plan in place”, she added.

For example, she said, 5,000 fully vaccinated relief staff were on call to fill gaps where needed.

Mr Burke says it’s important teachers had access to remote work, especially for the medically vulnerable, wage security and access to paid  return to the classroom.

What do I need to do in the next week? 

There’s no directive that children must be vaccinated to attend school. 

However, health authorities are urging parents of children aged five to 11 to get their first dose before they return to the classroom.

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath also wants more children aged 12 to 15 to get their second dose. As of Sunday, only 67.21 per cent of children in that age group were fully vaccinated.  

“If your 12- to 15-year-old is concerned about getting this vaccination, take them to a local pharmacy or to a GP to have that conversation, or go into any one of our vaccination clinics and talk to the staff there,” she said.

“They can explain any concerns, any queries that our 12 to 15-year-olds may have as to why they might hesitate in getting that vaccine.”

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Rafael Nadal has described his epic, five-set victory in the Australian Open men’s final as probably the “biggest comeback” of his outstanding career.

The Spaniard appeared to be in a hopeless situation when he trailed Russia’s Daniil Medvedev two sets to love in the final on Rod Laver Arena.

Remarkably, the 35-year-old forced his way back into the match to eventually triumph, 2-6, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 in 5 hours and 24 minutes.

Nadal did not secure the championship until after 1am AEDT, with the victory giving him a men’s record 21st major singles title.

It was his second Australian Open tournament win, 13 years after his first.

“If we put everything together — the scenario, the momentum, what it means — without a doubt, it’s probably been the biggest comeback of my tennis career,” Nadal said at his post-match media conference.

He said the key to his win was maintaining self-belief.

“I just wanted to keep believing until the end,” he said.

“I just wanted to give myself a chance. That’s what I did.”

Nadal had revealed in his presentation speech on Rod Laver Arena that he had concerns prior to the tournament that it could be his last Australian Open campaign.

His build-up had not run smoothly, as the former world number one was still managing the foot injury that saw him end his 2021 season prematurely last August.

He also tested positive to COVID-19 in December.

Nadal said the challenges he faced to even compete in Melbourne added to the significance of his victory.

“The way that I won this trophy tonight has been just unforgettable,” he said.

“It was one of the most emotional matches of my tennis career, without a doubt. It means a lot to me.”

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A pregnant New Zealand journalist says she turned to the Taliban for help and is now stranded in Afghanistan after her home country prevented her from returning due to a bottleneck of people in its coronavirus quarantine system.

In a column published in The New Zealand Herald on Saturday, Charlotte Bellis said it was “brutally ironic” that she’d once questioned the Taliban about their treatment of women and she was now asking the same questions of her own government.

“When the Taliban offers you — a pregnant, unmarried woman — safe haven, you know your situation is messed up,” Bellis wrote in her column.

New Zealand’s COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins told the New Zealand Herald his office had asked officials to check whether they followed the proper procedures in Bellis’s case, “which appeared at first sight to warrant further explanation.”

New Zealand has managed to keep the spread of the virus to a minimum during the pandemic and has reported just 52 virus deaths among its population of 5 million.

But the nation’s requirement that even returning citizens spend 10 days isolating in quarantine hotels run by the military has led to a backlog of thousands of people wanting to return home vying for spots.

Stories of citizens stranded abroad in dire circumstances have caused embarrassment for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her government, but Bellis’s situation is particularly striking.

Last year, she was working for Al Jazeera covering the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan when she gained international attention by questioning Taliban leaders about their treatment of women and girls.

In her column on Saturday, Bellis said she returned to Qatar in September and discovered she was pregnant with her partner, freelance photographer Jim Huylebroek, a contributor to The New York Times.

She described the pregnancy as a “miracle” after earlier being told by doctors she couldn’t have children. She is due to give birth to a girl in May.

Extramarital sex is illegal in Qatar and Bellis said she realised she needed to leave. She repeatedly tried to get back to New Zealand in a lottery-style system for returning citizens but without success.

She said she resigned from Al Jazeera in November and the couple moved to Huylebroek’s native Belgium.

But she couldn’t stay long, she said, because she wasn’t a resident. She said the only other place the couple had visas to live was Afghanistan.

Bellis said she spoke with senior Taliban contacts who told her she would be fine if she returned to Afghanistan.

“Just tell people you’re married and if it escalates, call us. Don’t worry,” Bellis said they told her.

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Victoria has recorded 10,053 new cases and eight Covid deaths in the past 24 hours.

There are now 873 infected people in Victorian hospitals, with 102 in intensive care and 33 on ventilators.

Victoria’s pre-Omicron peak for Covid hospitalisations was 851 in October when the state was battling a surge in Delta infections.

However, the figure is dwarfed by the 2779 people in NSW who are in hospital with Covid.

More than 93 per cent of eligible Victorians are fully vaccinated and the state has 76,335 active cases.

ENDS