In light of the current Omicron wave, should you let your kids go to school?
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With the start of the school year just around the corner, that's the question parents are asking themselves and there are mixed feelings from those in the region.
Mother of three Melissa-Aimee Pedder is undecided.
"I've been contemplating about whether I should send them back to school and with it being so close to starting, it's a decision I'll have to make sooner rather than later," Ms Pedder said.
"None of my kids are vaccinated, but have expressed the desire to do so. They are scared to go to school."
Her biggest concern for Marcus,11, and Ellie, 8, who go to Goulburn North Public School and Christian, 12, who starts school at Goulburn High School, is the COVID numbers.
"The numbers are growing and far too many people are catching it so easily," she said.
"It's as if masks and hand sanitizers don't work."
Ms Pedder said COVID numbers would have to decrease before her worries would go away.
"I'm not one for restrictions and I'm also currently unvaccinated due to medical reasons, but I think we need to bring restrictions back to bring the case numbers down.
"If the numbers started going down quite a bit, then I'd be happy for them to go to school."
Kelsey Wilson is another mother with concerns about the situation.
"It's a worry when you have vulnerable people at home," Ms Wilson said.
"I have a 12-week-old baby and I'm not willing to gamble how his little body would deal with COVID.
"My kids have had their first vaccination, but I think ideally, all kids should be vaccinated first.
"What happens when there are teacher shortages due to isolation?
"Do all the children just get thrown into one room together?
"I don't see how they can uphold COVID safe procedures when on reduced staff."
However, some are completely fine with their children going back to school.
"My 13-year-old is itching to get back to school and to be with his mates," one mother said.
"They did alright when there was no vaccination and the original strain was floating around, so I'm sure they will be just fine now.
"For me, kids need to have normalcy back in their lives, play, have fun, meet up with friends, just be kids and go back to face to face learning.
"I'm fine with it," another mother said.
"It's run its course through my household and the kids were the ones who were perfectly fine.
"It's inevitable, it's unavoidable and you can catch it anywhere.
"Prolonging more schooling is just going to do further damage in the long run."
The school year begins on January 27.
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Burney Wong
I love sport. You can reach me at burney.wong@austcommunitymedia.com.au or on 0437 291 518.
I love sport. You can reach me at burney.wong@austcommunitymedia.com.au or on 0437 291 518.
