TEACHERS NOW GOING TO FRONTLINE IN PANDEMIC

TEACHERS will effectively be frontline workers with the reopening of schools in the coming weeks, says Liam O’neill.

Although now a retired school principal, the

Trumera man (inset) has been involved in plans to get students back into classrooms and says “we have no idea what that’s going to bring”.

He explained: “I’m chairperson of a secondary level school and a primary school. I’ve spent a good bit of time in the summer, particularly with the primary school, trying to ensure that we open safely. “But it has to be done with huge meticulous planning and the new frontline workers now are going to be the teachers.

“There are a lot of older, 40-plus, 45-plus, teachers with vulnerabilities they don’t want to advertise but they’d be worried about going back. But they’ll do it.

“There’s huge work going on to try and ensure that it returns safely.”