COVID Updates from MACS
COVID Safe updates from MACS for Term 2 (Melbourne Archdiocese of Catholic Schools)
There are some important changes to COVID Safe measures for schools that will apply from the start of Term 2.
Face masks
From 11:59 pm Friday 22 April, face masks, while recommended, are not required in any school setting. This means students in grades 3 to 6, staff and visitors in primary schools are no longer required to wear face masks. Any student or staff member who wishes to wear a mask may do so, including those who are medically at-risk.
Rapid antigen test screening requirements
Students who have tested positive for COVID-19, and have completed their 7-day isolation period, now do not need to undertake rapid antigen test (RAT) screening for 12 weeks after their release from isolation. This was previously 8 weeks.
Household contacts
Students who are household contacts of a COVID-19 case are not required to quarantine. They may return to school as long as they undertake rapid antigen tests (RAT) 5 times during their 7-day period. They are required to notify the school that they are a household contact.
Students aged 8 years and above who are household contacts are required to wear face masks when indoors at school unless they have a valid exemption.
If a student household contact returns a positive RAT result, they must isolate for 7 days.
Vaccination requirements for visitors to schools
Parents, carers and other adult visitors (not performing work) are no longer required to show evidence of two doses of COVID-19 vaccine.
RAT screening program reminder
RATs will continue to be supplied for the first 4 weeks of Term 2 to support the early detection of COVID-19 in our school.
The testing recommendations will remain the same this Term for students and staff with:
mainstream schools – recommended to test at home twice a week
specialist schools – recommended to test 5 days a week at home due to the higher risk of severe illness for medically vulnerable children.
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Michelle Moore
Principal
At St Joseph’s, Malvern, we hold the care, safety and wellbeing of children and young people as a central and fundamental responsibility of our school.