COVID-19 Update – Very High Caseload Settings

Dear Families, 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.

Families have been emailed the following information and a document link.

Transition to a very high caseload for schools.

Under very high caseload setting, students who are asymptomatic close contacts (other than those who are 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.

At all other times, asymptomatic close contacts should quarantine for seven days and get tested. As with other close contacts, children who are identified as close contacts should be tested on Day 1 and Day 6 (if a PCR test) or 7 (if a RAT).

These arrangements will not apply to children who are ‘household close contacts’ or who are experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms.

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; or
• Someone who has had close personal 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.

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.

As always, our priority is to continue face-to-face learning. If your child is required to isolate, we will provide them with learning to do at home via SEQTA.  If your child’s teachers are required to isolate, your child may have different teachers for periods of time.  In some cases, we may need to rearrange extra-curricular school activities, including planned excursions to ensure our teachers are in classrooms teaching. 

Kind regards,

Eleanor Hughes – PRINCIPAL.