SCHOOLS’ SICK NOTE

Students who travelled to China advised to stay home for weeks

STUDENTS travelling from countries affected by the coronavirus are being warned not to return to class this week, as schools are placed on high alert.

As thousands of students across the Gold Coast head back to classrooms today for the start of a new school year, some schools are taking the precautionary step and asking students who holidayed in China over the break to impose a two-week quarantine.

General practice Gold Coast chair Dr Katrina McLean said health care workers on the ground were vigilant, but not alarmed, and said as a GP she would also recommend families with children who have travelled to China to seek advice from a doctor before returning them to school.

STUDENTS travelling from countries affected by the coronavirus are being warned not to return to class this week.

Trinity Lutheran College on the Gold Coast was the first to act, advising students travelling from China to enter a twoweek self-imposed quarantine.

The Bulletin has been told other Coast schools such as Somerset College and Emmanuel College have followed suit by issuing the notice to students.

“Students who have returned from China, irrespective of the Chinese cities visited, as a precautionary measure to assist in containing the disease and to prevent its spread in our community, we ask that these students be in self-imposed quarantine for two weeks from the college,” Trinity principal Dr Tsae Wong wrote to parents yesterday.

The school has also postponed an exchange with visiting students from Guangzhou, China, set for next month.

State schools with international enrolments were contacted last week regarding the virus. All state schools were issued with a fact sheet on the disease on Sunday.

Education Minister Grace Grace said the Department of Education had been in constant contact with Queensland Health over the weekend.

“The department will continue to update principals and school communities regularly so parents can have the latest information,” Ms Grace said. Independent Schools Queensland Executive Director David Robertson said ISQ had drawn on latest advice from authorities and provided it to schools. General Practice Gold Coast chair Dr Katrina McLean said health care workers on the ground were vigilant, but not alarmed.

“Dealing with infectious diseases is something we are trained to do and prepared for,” Dr McLean said.

“The message is anyone who suspected they may be unwell or at risk, stay at homeland phone for advice first.’’

Destination Gold Coast chief executive Annaliese Battista warned the city’s tourism industry would also take a hit from the “double whammy” of the bushfire disaster and coronavirus outbreak.

Ms Battista said both events occurring at the peak of the summer tourism period meant things were “pretty grim” because of the likely impact on overseas visitation.

“We have had a double whammy for the international market with the bushfires and the Chinese Government formally saying outbound tourists are not allowed to travel from China until further notices,”

Ms Battista said. “This is going to have an impact on the Gold Coast because China is our biggest overseas market so we will be looking at forms of mitigation.

‘The first priority will be to ensure the safety of both locals and tourists.”

Ms Battista said strategies were being discussed on how to keep the tourism market booming, including tapping into the New Zealand market.

“In the next financial year we will really need to look at the hole this has created in the market,” she said.

For information, contact 13 HEALTH (13 43 25 84).