By Dominique Tassell
Two Warwick schools have been caught up in the recent Brisbane lockdown, with confusion over mask wearing upon return.
Both Warwick State High School and Warwick West Primary School allegedly took trips to Brisbane on Friday 30 July.
Warwick State High School went on a “rewards trip” to a football game in Brisbane, while grade three Warwick West Primary School students allegedly went on an excursion to the planetarium.
A spokesperson for the Department of Education sent through near identical statements for both schools, stating they “diligently followed advice provided by the Department on the evening of Sunday 1 August around students wearing masks”.
The statement for Warwick West Primary School stated that primary school students are not required to wear a mask.
Given the group that travelled to Brisbane was reportedly in year three, none of the children would be required to wear a mask.
However, some students in primary school would be turning 12 years old in year six, meaning not all primary school students are exempt from mask wearing.
While the restrictions at the time stated that anyone over the age of 12 who had travelled to South-East Queensland should wear a mask for 14 days upon returning home, Warwick State High Students reportedly did not.
This has been blamed on conflicting advice from the health department.
Multiple students have reportedly been tested since returning home, and none have been confirmed to be positive.
Questions have been raised about why the schools went ahead with excursions at a time when growing numbers of cases were being detected in Brisbane, with the first of the school children announced on the morning of the excursions.
The current outbreak in Brisbane has resulted in over 15,000 people being put into home quarantine.
Children under 12 years of age currently do not have to wear masks, however the Queensland State Government recently stated thy were reconsidering this given the outbreak in Brisbane.
Anyone over 12 years of age has been required to wear a mask if declared mandatory at any point during the pandemic.
Most recently, health advice stated that if you have been in Brisbane and returned to another area you must wear a mask for for two weeks.
This advice was in place prior to the students travelling to Brisbane on 30 July.
Neither school would give comment to alleviate stress in the community by confirming actions were taken to ensure no cases were brought back to town.
