Millions of Aussie parents brace for THREE MONTHS of homeschooling amid fears Sydney schools won't open at all this term
Millions of parents are bracing for at least three more months of homeschooling as Sydney faces being stuck in lockdown until at least mid-September.
NSW Education Mininster Sarah Mitchell urged teachers to get the AstraZeneca jab to protect staff and students from the virus, and help end interruptions to schooling.
But authorities believe further disruption is inevitable, with the government unlikely to reopen schools for the rest of the term as Sydney's Delta Covid outbreak worsens.
Parents are set to expect further months of home-learning with their children as schools show no clear sign of reopening for the remainder of the term
'The situation is not where we want it to be...' NSW P&C president Tim Spencer told The Daily Telegraph.
He said parents were most likely to endure a full term of home learning 'lasting considerably longer' than last year's lockdown.
'They will have 10 weeks being at home with their kids with an extra two weeks before that on school holidays when they aren't able to go anywhere,' he told the publication.
'That is three months of being locked up in the house and it is a stress on everybody, it is going to put great stress on households.'
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the government was working towards alleviating the pressures of homeschooling and was working on a solution for parents.
'We are considering all those issues this week and as soon as we have a response to what life will look like beyond July 31, we will make that clear,' she said.
The NSW Education Minister said she'd continue advocating for priority vaccination for teachers, and encouraged staff to receive the widely-available AstraZeneca dose in the meantime.
NSW Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell has urged for teachers to get the AstraZeneca jab to avoid further disruptions to schooling
Gladys Berejiklian is considering alleviating pressures of homeschooling after July 31
On Tuesday Sydney recorded another 172 cases of Covid-19 as NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian ramped-up the rollout of coronavirus vaccines in pharmacies across the state.
Ms Berejiklian said 60 of the cases - recorded from 84,468 tests in the 24 hours to 8pm on Monday night - were out in the community while infectious.
The Premier said she hoped to announce as early as Wednesday whether or not she would extend Greater Sydney's five-week stay-at-home lockdown beyond July 30.
During Tuesday's Covid press conference Ms Berejiklian called on Sydneysiders to get vaccinated against the virus as she rolled out a new pilot program to make the jabs available at chemists and pharmacies.
From this week, chemists can administer the AstraZeneca Covid-19 jab to all NSW residents over the age of 18 as part of a pilot program to boost vaccination rates across the state.
'My message to everybody is please come forward and get the vaccine,' Ms Berejiklian said.
'Not only are you protecting yourself but you’re protecting those closest to you.'