Victorian primary schools will scrap the mask mandate in Term 2 if COVID-19 cases continue to stabilise, says the state’s health minister.
“We currently have the fewest restrictions in place since the beginning of the pandemic, and the sensible settings that are in place can be reviewed following the peak in cases,” Health Minister Martin Foley said in a statement.
More than 70,000 students and 8,000 staff in public schools have tested positive to COVID-19, but epidemiological forecasts suggest the number of cases is declining.
In January, the Victorian government launched a grants program aimed at making vaccines more accessible to children aged five to 11 in a bid to limit the disruption the pandemic was having on the state’s schools.
On Tuesday, Premier Dan Andrews said current restrictions could be lifted once the worst of the current outbreak is over.
“Once we get past the peak, once we start to see those numbers coming off, we will have options that are not available to us now,” Premier Andrews said.
“To have less rules while case numbers are going up, that’s probably not a smart thing to do. But once they start to come off, which we think will be quite soon, we will have options available to us.”