By Cam Lucadou-Wells
Five schools in the Dandenong region are closed due to Covid cases on 27 October, according to the State education department’s website.
Five days after schools fully reopened, Dandenong South Primary School, Hallam Senior College, Lyndale Secondary College, Wallarano Primary School and Springvale Rise Primary School are listed as closed.
However, Springvale Rise announced on Facebook it was re-opening today after being closed for 24 hours due to a positive case.
Meanwhile, Dandenong North Primary School was twice closed for 24-hour periods last week.
It is linked to a cluster of 10 cases, including at least two students.
Principal Kevin McKay said the closures had been a “nightmare”.
“It’s the reporting and the identifying of close contacts. We have to ring every family, every primary contact to tell them they have to quarantine.
“The spread of the virus is exponential. You get a case and you don’t know when it’s going to stop.
“Kids are not vaccinated. I’ll be surprised if any school can manage not to be affected.”
A class of students and up to nine staff are quarantining at home, as a result.
“These were infections outside the school.
“The families having been at school means the risk to others is high, so those classes have to be isolated for two weeks as close contacts.
“It wouldn’t take long to have most of our staff off if we weren’t on top of our game.”
Fully-vaccinated staff can return to work after seven days’ isolation. No staff have been infected so far, Mr McKay said.
Meanwhile students and their close contacts are quarantined for two weeks.
Mr McKay was concerned about the health impacts on students, families and his fully-vaccinated workforce.
“Of course it’s a worry. That’s why we’ve been in lockdown for 200 days because the Chief Health Officer was worried.
“But how would you know when to open up if you don’t now? We had to open at some stage and go through it.
“The risk is there until all children are vaccinated in Victoria. And if the parents were vaccinated in the community, we wouldn’t have this problem.”
Casey and Greater Dandenong is the new epicentre for Covid cases in Melbourne, with 310 new cases on 26 October and nearly 4500 active cases.
Mr McKay was heartened that vaccination rates were surging in Greater Dandenong, though the Doveton and Dandenong postcodes have been well behind the state average.
“That’s promoting the spread of (Covid), when people are not vaccinated,” Mr McKay said.
“Parents are now seeing it’s worthwhile to be vaccinated. Now that they’re being infected by close contacts or their children.
“That story about Covid not being real – when it comes home and it’s in your backyard, it’s hard to deny the reality.”
In the meantime, the school tries to maintain Covid safety with ‘bubbles’, masks, hygiene and cleaning protocols.
“Last week I was despairing that we’d be like this through to the end of the year.
“But now I’m seeing community members taking it on board and getting vaccinated.
“I expect it will still be a rough period of one and a half weeks.”
