St Mary’s Primary School student tests positive

July 25, 11.15am

A St Mary’s Primary School student has tested positive for coronavirus.

Colac’s St Mary’s Primary School principal Michael Mahoney issued the following statement to families after a Grade One student tested positive to COVID-19 on Friday.

Mr Mahoney said the student had not attended the school in the last week.

St Mary’s and Sacred Heart primary schools had encouraged families to keep their children at home if they could this week, after a meat contractor at ALC tested positive to the virus on July 17, and a Trinity College Colac student tested positive on July 18.

Mr Mahoney said the schools’ close relationship with Trinity College and ALC prompted the stay at home advice.

See the school’s statement below.

Dear Parents,

We have received notification today that a St Mary’s student in Grade 1 has tested positive for COVID-19. I can confirm that the student has not attended school in the past week.

Following the protocol provided by the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria and Catholic Education Office Ballarat, I have made contact with the DHHS who will now confirm the diagnosis and advise of any further necessary actions. The school will be closed for all students and staff on Monday July 27th and Tuesday July 28th to allow a deep clean to be conducted.

Any families that are concerned about their child’s wellbeing should follow the advice of their medical practitioner or contact Colac Area Health, who are currently conducting drive through testing at Central Reserve. Contact numbers for Colac Area Health are 0456 691 237 or 0408 745 415. For further localised information visit the Colac Area Health website at or the Colac Otway Shire website.

I understand that this news can be unsettling and I want to assure you we are doing everything we can to contain and slow the spread of the virus, and ensure the health and safety of our whole school community.

I will update all families once a decision about future school operations has been reached and will continue to keep you informed as further updates become available.

More information regarding coronavirus and schools is available on the DHHS and CECV websites.

Regards
Michael Mahoney

More to come.