Pom in Oz: The complexity of new rules redefining close contacts in a school

January 28 saw yet another lot of rules and regulations introduced, this time redefining what a “close contact” is and what to do if you either contract the virus or if you are classed as both a critical worker and a close contact of someone who has tested positive to COVID19. I would need several pages to fully explain the ins and outs of this, not that I think I could anyway. But I can summarise some specifics in relation to people working in education. As you are probably aware, teachers, education assistants and anyone who works on a school site has to be triple-vaxxed, in the process of doing so or classed as exempt. It’s natural for teachers to be classed as critical workers, after all schools have been said to keep the economy going. While educating students we also allow parents and carers to go to work and keep our country moving forward. I agree schools should be the first to open and the last to close, provided we can do this safely. Police, nurses, transport, logistics and education workers belong to industries that keep the country running and 99 per cent of our work needs to be done in person. In a nutshell and in my interpretation, there are three levels to a being a close contact, a sliding scale if you like. A school-based close contact of a positive case who becomes symptomatic must isolate and get tested by PCR or rapid antigen test. Asymptomatic close contact staff members can still attend work but must take a RAT daily for seven days and quarantine when not at work. Likewise asymptomatic close-contact students can still go to school but are asked to avoid public transport and extracurricular activities for seven days. A close contact in a school is defined as a staff member or student who shared a classroom with a positive case for at least one lesson, regardless of constant mask use or not. In Geraldton, that could range from 40 minutes to one hour and 20 minutes. To be honest, I am struggling to understand these rules and the logistics about the daily testing, but all the details can be found somewhere on the government’s website. So far so good I think. Let’s keep classrooms running, keep testing and keep our students education moving forward. It may get messy with testing, but I can see the logic behind this. The huge but to this is the need for close contacts to quarantine outside of work. No mixing with friends or family, no shopping, no gym, no church. This is all the while we are returning daily negative tests. I must admit it took me a while to get my head around this. If I am understanding this correctly I can go to my school but I can’t take my children to school. I can mix with possibly over 150 students in classes through the day but I can’t go to my church. I can drive to my place of work, but I can’t stop at the petrol station to get the fuel needed to do the journey. The list goes on. Now as I have written before, I work at a Christian school and Christian teachings are at the heart of everything we do. That gives me a comfort. I know 100 per cent that God will be guiding our school leaders and we will keep the well being of our staff and students at the heart of every decision. But I am not connected to other schools which like us will have to follow these “rules”. This is what is causing me confusion, anxiety and, yes, I say it, fear. I am not fearful of the virus, but I am fearful of the mental health implications that these rules could have. I have written to our local pollies for clarification and guidance. And I would encourage you all to read the rules and see what you think. If you think they are simply wrong, don’t just sit there. Do something. Be proactive, contact your local members, it’s their job to represent — you need to ensure they do just that. Derek Goforth is a teacher at Geraldton Christian College