Victoria: All school students to return to classrooms within October


A Primary School in Glenroy (File photo)

All Victorian school students will be returning to their classrooms within October. Students in Victoria were returned to remote learning more than two months ago as the state began to record a second wave of infections.

According to Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, “primary school students, VCE and VCAL students, and those attending specialist schools will return to face-to-face learning in Melbourne from Monday 12 October. And students in rural and regional Victoria will head back to the classroom from today (depending on their year level and school circumstances).”

He also said that Years 8-10 will return from Monday, October 26 – a fortnight later.

“The decision was based on updated public health advice which took into account Victoria’s progress in defeating the second wave of coronavirus”, according to Education Minister James Merlino.

Victoria on Monday recorded nine new cases of Covid-19 overnight, bringing its 14 day rolling average to 11.6. The state recorded zero fatalities owing to Covid-19 on Monday.

For Melbourne to move to step three of the government’s road map out of lockdown, the state’s 14-day average needs to be five or below, with just five or fewer active mystery cases.