Why is Gladys doing a back flip re. school?

Gladys has stated that kids will be returning to school as of week 3 of Term 2.  What??? This comes only a few weeks after she was urging parents to keep their kids at home.  I was so impressed by her strong, unequivocal leadership back then even if it meant undermining Scott’s message the night before, (22/3/20) but this turn around makes no sense.

Andrew Pollard professor of paediatric infection and immunity at Oxford Uni (from the Guardian 1/4/20) has stated that children are just as likely to get infected as adults. However, when they do get infected, they are experiencing milder symptoms. Ok thank God for that.

However, if children are able to be infected by the virus, then they can transmit the virus to others. And if children show little to no symptoms, then they are silent carriers of the disease which is dangerous. Gladys keeps saying how community transmissions are of great concern, yet children could be part of these mysterious community transmissions passing it on to more vulnerable individuals including their parents and grandparents.

It makes no sense that the rest of the population are being urged to persevere with the restrictions, if children do not need to. As our leaders have been saying repeatedly, Australia hasn’t seen the huge growth in infections or deaths because we’ve taken serious action early such as physical distance rules, closures of pubs, clubs, cafes, restaurants etc. Any ease of these restrictions could see this trend change. Sending kids to school is easing restrictions. There is no way social distancing can be praticed in a class room. 

Once again, parents are going to have to make agonising decisions regarding whether to send their kids to school. And put up with a cocky PM chastising them for not doing so. For not valuing their kids education or the economy.  

Is this the beginning of the easing of restrictions generally? A deadly premature mistake if it is.

Watch that curve go up.