Noah, who is in year 2, wore one last term despite not being required to. He would take his off, too, along with the older children on Tuesday.
Some children, though, will opt to keep their masks on when they return to school, and the Victorian Department of Education and Training still recommends people wear face masks at schools.
What other rules have changed for term 2?
There are a few other changes coming into effect for students and their parents and carers in term 2.
While staff, volunteers, and others working at schools still have to be triple-vaccinated against COVID-19, the vaccine requirements for other visitors to schools – including parents and carers – have been scrapped.
They no longer have to show proof of two doses, or a vaccination exemption, to get onto school grounds.
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Students who are close contacts of COVID-19 cases also no longer have to quarantine, as long as they take additional safety precautions.
Their parents and carers have to notify the school they are a close contact of a COVID-19 case, and the students have to return a negative rapid antigen test five out of seven days, and wear a mask when they are indoors.
The government is continuing to provide free rapid antigen tests to all Victorian school students and staff for the first four weeks of term 2.
Rapid antigen testing is still voluntary for those who are not close contacts of COVID-19 cases, however, it is recommended primary and secondary school students and staff get tested twice a week on school days.
The government recommends specialist school students and staff get tested on school days.
Those students and staff who do test positive to COVID-19 do not have to undergo rapid antigen test screening for 12 weeks after their isolation period.
They also do not have to isolate if they are exposed to another COVID-19 case within 12 weeks of their isolation period ending, up from eight weeks.
While the government encourages schools to run excursions and camps, the schools have to consider factors related to COVID-19, like whether they can hold an activity outdoors, and limit it to the smallest possible cohort.
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School’s back, rules are tweaked and mask mandate is out for Victorian students
Source: Philippines Alive
