Rising Covid cases force some schools in NSW and Victoria to return to remote learning

Major staffing shortages have forced schools in New South Wales and Victoria back into remote learning as the new Omicron sub-variant BA.2 sees Covid cases rise.

NSW recorded 23,702 new Covid cases on Friday and seven deaths, with rates of infections in the state highest among those aged 10-19 years old. Victoria recorded 9,244 new cases and nine deaths.

The Victorian and NSW governments have resisted the reintroduction of mandatory Covid restrictions, instead placing individual responsibility on schools and parents before an anticipated increase in cases this winter.

All positive cases must be registered with Service NSW and eligible children are required to be vaccinated.

Free RATs have been made available for staff and students throughout term one, which may end early if recommended by health advice.

Carinya school in the Sydney suburb of Mortdale was forced to close to face-to-face learning for a week due to a large Covid outbreak.

It came four days after the NSW health minister, Brad Hazzard, warned Covid cases were expected to double in the state within six weeks as BA.2 spread.

While the school returned to face-to-face learning on 18 March, a further positive case was detected less than a week later.

Castle Hill high in Sydney also had to temporarily revert some students to studying from home due to staff shortages in the region.

Earlier this month, a Covid outbreak at Queanbeyan high school forced students to return to some days of remote learning.

Staff at the school walked out on Thursday in protest over what they said was a lack of support from the NSW Department of Education in staffing the school.

A teacher at nearby Karabar high, who wished to remain anonymous, told Guardian Australia their school had sent a letter to parents advising them of staffing shortages, and three Queanbeyan primary schools had also been forced to send cohorts home due to outbreaks.

Guidelines for backfilling staff released by the NSW health department recommend the use of casual teachers to manage Covid disruptions, including teachers from nearby schools and department-accredited staff in non-teaching roles.

As of 14 March, more than 350 non-teaching corporate staff had been deployed into schools and 1,799 final year teaching students were granted interim teaching approval for casual and temporary roles.

The department has also begun contacting retired teaches to consider casual or temporary work in response to the shortages.