Second NSW School Closes After Teacher Tests Positive for COVID-19

People pass signs for a COVID-19 Clinic as they enter or exit St Vincent's hospital in Sydney, Australia, on March 18, 2020. (Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

The New South Wales (NSW) Department of Education has closed another primary school after a teacher returned a positive test for the COVID-19 disease caused by the CCP virus.

Werrington Primary School in Sydney announced that it will be closed from May 14 after the state health department notified them that a teacher had contracted the virus.

The school also noted that the health department will be tracing students and staff who were in close contact with the teacher, and these individuals will be required to self-isolate.

Students who attend Werrington Primary School will move to online learning platforms until the contact tracing is complete and the school has been cleaned.

Werrington Primary School said in an announcement that “the safety and wellbeing 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.”

The Second NSW School to Close

Werrington is the second NSW school to have closed since the start of term two following a confirmed case of the CCP virus.

Warragamba Public School was closed on May 4 after a student contracted the virus.

The closures come after the NSW state government chose to reopen schools on May 11.

In a media release on May 11, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the re-opening of schools was an important step in “our commitment to kick-starting our economy again and prioritising community recovery.”

“Schools are a crucial part of our response to COVID-19, and I want to thank the students, principals, teachers and parents for being flexible and responding quickly to delivering education during the pandemic,” Berejiklian said.

Public schools are staggering student attendance days as part of the state government’s rollback of its lockdown.

Werrington Primary school is in Western Sydney, a current hotspot for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as novel coronavirus.

Werrington Primary School is an 11-minute drive from one of the states worst clusters of the CCP virus, at Anglicare’s Newmarch House nursing home.

Anglicare announced on May 11 that the Newmarch House outbreak has recorded 69 cases with 37 residents and 34 staff testing positive to COVID-19. Eighteen deaths have also been recorded in the cluster.

According to the New South Wales Department of Health, the suburb currently has 25 active cases of COVID-19.