A new report has found that schools are one of the safest places to be during the coronavirus pandemic. The government-funded National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance probe looked at the transmission of COVID-19 within NSW schools between March and mid-April.
Nine teachers and nine students confirmed to have coronavirus were tracked by researchers, along with their 863 close contacts. The study found only two additional cases of COVID-19, which were not passed onto other people.
This indicates the disease has very limited transmissibility between students, and from students to teachers, NCIRS director Kristine Macartney told Sunrise.
“We think this is important, real-world evidence for everybody to hear,” she said.
The federal government is increasing pressure on the states to return schools to normal as soon as possible, while jurisdictions continue to take a range of approaches.
Australia currently has 6,713 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with the death toll standing at 83.
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