Rosalie Woodruff MP | Greens Health spokesperson
Many parents will be stressed sending their children to school today, as will teachers returning to the classroom. Their anxiety and confusion is completely understandable.
Children attending their first day of school for 2022 are being placed at avoidable risk, while the Gutwein Government tries to gaslight parents and teachers about the safety of the learning environment.
No student has been fully vaccinated against Omicron, and there is overwhelming evidence some young children will develop long Covid after infection. Premier Gutwein’s patronising assurances that when children catch Covid it will be ‘mild’ ignores the reality of living with ongoing symptoms for unknown months.
It is terrible to appreciate the Premier refuses to implement public health protection measures other states and countries are using to protect their students from contracting Covid.
The majority of teachers don’t feel safe returning to work – and why would they? The Liberals are not mandating P2/N95 masks or surveillance RATs, and the AEU survey confirms 45% of their members don’t have access to the required outdoor learning spaces.
The safety of students and teachers are being sacrificed for politics and penny-pinching.
Premier Peter Gutwein and his MIA Education Minister have failed to provide known Covid-avoidance measures for Tasmanian children and teachers. Any Covid case in the State’s schools, taken home to potentially at-risk families, stems from their failures.