The principal of a Canberra school that has been exposed to COVID-19 has backed calls to prioritise vaccinations for teachers.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
St Thomas Aquinas Primary School principal Leah Taylor said teachers should be able to be vaccinated as essential workers.
"The fact that schools have remained open for children of essential workers, it really does put teachers at the frontline of that [outbreak]," Mrs Taylor said.
"And I understand there are a lot of essential workers and a lot of people at the frontline, but I'd certainly put teachers in those groups."
The number of cases associated with Canberra schools continues to climb with a cluster of 23 cases at Lyneham High School and six cases at the Gold Creek School.
The growing case load prompted calls from the Independent Education Union to prioritise vaccinations for teachers and early childhood educators.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr said vaccinations would open up to more groups as supply became available.
READ MORE COVID-19 NEWS:
Harrison School students were prioritised for testing at the Gold Creek pop-up centre on Wednesday while close contacts from UC Senior Secondary College Lake Ginninderra were also able to be tested at the Erindale pop up site.
The St Thomas Aquinas community was told on Tuesday that a COVID-19 case was at the Charnwood school on Thursday, August 12, from 8.30am to 4pm.
However, they were unable to go to the Erindale Active Leisure Centre for testing until Thursday, causing some anxiety among parents.
Mrs Taylor said the students and families were in good spirits as they got tested for Covid and the testing centre staff accommodated the students with additional needs or with diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds.
"They were doing a beautiful job. I can't compliment the team down there enough," she said.
Mrs Taylor said her school had paused its remote learning programs while everybody got tested and waited for their results. She said teachers were keen to return to the classroom when it is safe, but could not say when that would be.
"It's what we love to do. It's why we're in teaching at the end of the day, working with the kids."
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark canberratimes.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram