Posted April 26, 2020 00:01:40

Photo: Prime Minister Scott Morrison has repeatedly said teachers face a greater risk in the staffroom than the classroom (file photo). (ABC News: Tim Swanston)

A highly anticipated report into the spread of COVID-19 in classrooms, relied on by the Federal Government to fast-track the reopening of schools, indicates the disease has very limited transmissibility between students, and from students to teachers.

Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy cited the report on Friday at a press conference with Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who stressed that social distancing measures did not need to be followed in schools.

The findings of NSW Health's Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS), tracked the spread of 18 cases — 9 teachers and 9 students — across 15 schools.

The study, led by NCIRS director Kristine Macartney and soon to be peer reviewed, analysed the tests of 863 close contacts of the infections, interactions which occurred between early March and April 21.

It also discovered two secondary infections in students, who are believed to have caught the virus at school.

Infographic: Cases and close contacts among teachers and students in five NSW primary schools showing one secondary case in a student. (Supplied)

"Our investigation found no evidence of children infecting teachers. One secondary case [in the child in a high school] was presumed to have been infected following close contact with two student cases," Professor Macartney wrote.

"The other secondary case was presumed to have been infected by a staff member [teacher]."

Breaking down the latest news and research to understand how the world is living through an epidemic, this is the ABC's Coronacast podcast.

Australian Education Union federal president Correna Haythorpe said on Friday the decision to reopen schools was ill-conceived.

"Today's updated guidelines do not provide a solution in terms of creating a safe environment for teachers, principals and support staff in schools," Ms Haythorpe said.

"To announce the scrapping of school social distance guidelines on the Friday before students return to school in all states and territories is beyond comprehension."

'Schools remain open and are safe for students to return'

Mr Morrison has repeatedly said teachers face a greater risk in the staffroom than the classroom — and it appears this report is the basis for that.

"It is notable that half of the initial cases that occurred in schools were in staff. This is consistent with the higher rate of COVID-19 seen in adults than in children," Professor Macartney concludes.

When will school return in NSW? Are schools safe from coronavirus? Your questions answered here.

"It is also important for all adults, including teachers, to follow the social distancing practices while at school and in the community."

NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said the report will be released to schools later today to help them plan for a staggered return to school.

"We know that COVID-19 has created some anxiety for parents, teachers and school staff, however, the findings in this report confirm existing health advice that schools remain open and are safe for students to return," Ms Mitchell said.

According to the findings of the NSW Government, while school-aged children are 16 per cent of the population, only 1.7 per cent of COVID-19 infections have been in this age group.

Students in NSW are expected to begin returning to school one day a week from May 11.

"Our managed return to school provides an orderly pathway to return students to the classroom, and allows for additional measures for teachers and parents," Ms Mitchell said.

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"[Our teachers] have shown great innovation in adapting to the uncertainty that COVID-19 has brought, but nothing replaces the experience of learning in a classroom."

Professor Macartney said the report builds on evidence from abroad, indicating a reduced transmissibility of COVID-19 between children, or from children to adults.

"A unique aspect of this work is that we were able to look specifically for spread in schools over many weeks and utilise additional testing methods," Professor Macartney said.

"We appreciate the cooperation of the students, families, teachers and principals who really saw the value of systematically and scientifically approaching the investigation."

Topics: covid-19, diseases-and-disorders, infectious-diseases-other, government-and-politics, state-parliament, health, respiratory-diseases, schools, independent-schools, primary-schools, private-schools, public-schools, religious-schools, secondary-schools, education, sydney-2000, nsw