Our children's social interactions and mental wellbeing is being negatively impacted by the ACT Governments decision to keep public schools closed for Term 2. 

The latest COVID-19 statistics (22 April 20) for the ACT consist of 104 cases with 92 recoveries. The Australian Government publication “Modelling the current impact of COVID-19 in Australia” (16 April 2020) estimates that the detection rate is 92% of symptomatic cases and 80% of all cases. ACT borders are sealed. Of a population of 430,000 the ACT currently has 12 known active cases (0.003 percent of our population is infected!).

The ACT Government has done a wonderful job of preparing for online education for Term 2 and is well positioned to roll it out, but it is no longer required due to the ACT public's adherance to the measures put in place to curb COVID19. It is not even the optimum solution for public health outcomes. According to Professor Peter Collignon, an Australian National University professor who is an expert in infectious diseases, Canberra's public schools should be reopened to students as soon as possible and waiting until Term 3 to resume classroom learning could be more of a danger due to the onset of winter. The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) advises that there is a very low health risk for children who attend school. 

This petition requests that the ACT Minister for Education and Early Childhood Development, Yvette Berry:

1. accepts that although there has been a lot of time and effort invested in planning for online learning for Term 2, it is no longer the optimum solution for our community, 

2. listens to the advice being provided by a well respected infectious diseases expert, Professor Collignon, who states that keeping schools closed until Term 3 could result in more of a danger,

3. considers the negative mental health and social impacts to our children of keeping our schools closed, and

4. reopens public schools in the ACT in term 2 2020, or as soon as possible, for the benefit of the majority of ACT residents whom she represents.