Tuesday, 16 November 2021

Ministers statements: COVID-19

Ms STITT (Western Metropolitan—Minister for Workplace Safety, Minister for Early Childhood) (12:11): On Monday the government announced that kindergartens and long day care centres will be eligible to opt in to the rapid antigen testing scheme in line with schools. We want to help our young children get back to face-to-face learning with their teachers and educators as quickly as possible, and testing is an important tool to do that. Free rapid antigen test kits will be provided to all eligible services. It will reduce both quarantine time and pressure on families, while ensuring early childhood settings are as low risk as possible. Eligible kindergarten and long day care services can opt in to the program to receive at-home test kits for children who have been identified as primary close contacts.

Members interjecting.

The PRESIDENT: I cannot hear the minister. Dr Cumming, please!

Ms STITT: Thank you, President. Test kits will be available to early childhood services subject to outbreaks from this Monday and will be distributed to eligible services ready to be used from next Monday. Service providers will establish a system to collect, record and hold the testing information, and parents and carers will opt in for their children to be part of the scheme. It means that children can return to their early childhood services after seven days of quarantine if they get a negative standard PCR test on day six. I am sure—

Members interjecting.

The PRESIDENT: Order! I do not want to repeat myself and keep repeating the warning. Dr Cumming, please! This side also do not help.

Ms STITT: Thank you, President. It means that children can return to their early childhood services after seven days of quarantine if they get a negative standard PCR test on day six. Children will then move on to seven days of at-home rapid antigen testing. A negative test result is required on the days the child attends their early childhood setting. The quick and easy tests indicate a result for coronavirus within 15 to 30 minutes, with families required to report the test results to the early childhood service each morning prior to attending.

I know that the early childhood education and care sector have welcomed this announcement, and I am sure they are interested in hearing the details of it, even if others are not. Supplying these test kits is just another way we are supporting the sector to provide COVID-safe environments for children to learn and for educators to work.