Peter Gutwein,Premier
The Tasmanian Government's number one priority is the health and safety of all Tasmanians, and it is pleasing to see COVID case number continue to plateau with 504 new cases confirmed today.
With Government schools returning mid next week, and this week for some Independent and Catholic schools, the plans to provide back to school packs are progressing very well.
Early Childhood Education Centres will start receiving their packs from today, which include RAT tests and face masks for both students and staff who need them.
The Government is engaging closely with Catholic and Independent schools and met with them last week to discuss back to school preparation and the State Government's support to keep their schools safe.
I would like to thank the team who worked over the weekend preparing back to school packs for the distribution of around 80,000 RATs to the Catholic and Independent schools commencing today.
Tasmania is leading the states on vaccination rates for 5-11 year olds and we are currently around 8 per cent ahead of the national average for children vaccinated with around 50 per cent of Tasmanian children aged 5 to 11 having had their first vaccination, and there is still time for every child to receive a vaccination before school returns.
This is why we have launched a Back to School Vax Blitz across the State in a bid to get as many children vaccinated before they return to school, with pop up clinics and walk ins available.
I urge parents to get their children vaccinated this week, with the walk ins and pop up clinics providing flexibility during school holidays and making it easy to undertake.
There is no doubt that school is the best place for our children to learn and for their wellbeing, and we have made sure that this can occur with safe practices and minimal disruption.
