Teachers seek urgent talks with NSW government on school safety amid Omicron surge

In highly vaccinated NSW, case numbers have exceeded 20,000 on some days over the Christmas period.

Gavrielatos said schools were already heavily disrupted in 2021, when far fewer cases circulated in the state, with an average of about 40 schools a day affected by staff or students testing positive.

Gavrielatos said a multi-pronged approach to Covid-19 was sorely needed in schools, where vaccination rates differ from the general NSW population. As of Monday, 78.2% of NSW children aged 12-15 were double-vaccinated, compared with 93.6% of people 16 and older. The vast majority of primary school students are currently unvaccinated, with the rollout for children aged 5-11 to begin on 10 January.

Covid-19 has generally produced a milder illness in children than adults, though it is possible for children to become severely ill and in rare cases die. Research on children and the Omicron variant is still emerging.

Towards the end of the 2021 school year, measures in place for NSW schools included physical distancing and outdoor lessons where possible, mandatory vaccinations for staff and compulsory masks for staff, visitors and students in year 7 and above. Masks were strongly recommended for primary school students.

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But there are concerns this will not always be possible in a hot Australian summer. The department has bought air purifiers, but they will not be brought in across the board and only used in situations where, for instance, bushfire smoke or poor air quality rules out opening the window. In the UK, similar ventilation advice was criticised as unworkable in the context of a harsh winter.