Fake letter claiming to be from health officials saying schools are closed due to coronavirus outbreak is referred to police
- A fake letter over a 'mandatory no school policy' has been leaked on social media
- Minister for Health Greg Hunt took to Twitter to alert parents of the fake letter
- Schools remain open around Australia despite the deadly coronavirus outbreak
- Sixty-one countries around the world have closed down schools amid the virus
- Scott Morrison said he was following the advice from the chief medical officer
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
A fake letter claiming schools have been closed due to the coronavirus has been handed in to police.
The letter has been circulating on social media with a message for Australian parents and carers over a 'mandatory no school policy' due to begin on Monday.
'Due to recent developments in the COVID-19, the state of Victoria and the Commonwealth Government have come up with a national response and agreed that it is in everybody's best interest to proceed in early termination of the school term for all secondary and primary aged students,' the fake letter reads.
The letter says that secondary students are encouraged to continue studying online, though this is not mandatory.
The fake letter circulating on social media over a 'mandatory no school policy'
Minister for Health Greg Hunt took to Twitter to alert parents of the fake notice
Stamps from the Australian Government Department of Health and Parliament of Australia are on the top of letter, as well as signatures from Minister for Health Greg Hunt and Victorian Minister for Health & Ambulance Services Jenny Mikakos.
Both took to Twitter to alert parents that the letter was fake and schools remained open.
'Please note there is a forged letter circulating on social media purporting to be from myself and the Victorian Minister Jenny Mikakos,' Mr Hunt tweeted.
'This letter is a fake and falsely asserts school closures. Schools remain open with the unanimous support of the States and Commonwealth. The matter is being reported to the police.'
The federal government has come under fire for allowing schools to remain open despite the coronavirus crisis.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison's ban for public gatherings of 500 or more people came into play on Monday, forcing the cancellation of various sporting events, concerts and meetings around the country.
Sixty-one countries around the world have closed schools, while Australian students are still cramming in to crowded classrooms.
Today host Karl Stefanovic said as a parent, he found Mr Morrison's plan of keeping schools open during the pandemic 'confusing' and 'disturbing' because there were more than 500 kids at most schools.
'I don't want my child to get this, okay? It doesn't make sense to me,' he said.
But Mr Morrison strongly disagreed with Stefanovic, reminding him that he was following the advice from the chief medical officer - and that he was a parent also.
Karl Stefanovic questioned the federal government calls to keep schools open despite the coronavirus pandemic
'You're not a doctor and neither am I,' Mr Morrison said.
'I'm a parent, you're a parent. We all have the same anxieties about the health of our kids, it's not a competition.'
'My kids are going to school. I trust the medical advice of those who are responsible for the medical health of our nation. They don't consider these things idly, they consider them very carefully.
'It's a fact that younger people are less at risk and there are greater risks in school closures.
Mr Morrison did confirm that some schools may close in the future.
Education Minister Dan Tehan reiterated that the government was acting on the best medical advice available, however, Stefanovic wasn't having it, saying that 'even his 14-year-old daughter was telling him students were a lot closer than the recommended 1.5m gap between students at school.
Federal education minister Dan Tehan said the government was operating on the best medical advice available to them
But Mr Tehan said students need to be in class so that medical professionals who are parents will be able to stay in the work force.
He said children could be at risk of spreading the disease to elderly carers while their parents were working, before saying the upcoming Easter school holidays could be extended in response to the pandemic.
Mr Stefanovic noted his contradictory statement, highlighting the confused state of many parents and carers in the governmental response to the virus.
'The differences in advice here and the discrepancies in advice is mind blowing,' he said.
'It's all over the shop. You're saying at one point we need our kids to be at school so they're not running around together and not spreading the virus and then you're saying, hang on a second, we may need to extend the school holidays. Which is it?'
Mr Tehan noted there may be a time for the government to close down schools but that time was not now.
St Christopher's Catholic Primary School in Panania in south-western Sydney closed on Monday after a person who had attended a professional development event at the school campus on Thursday tested positive for coronavirus.
'We want to take all possible precautions to ensure the continued health and safety of our school community,' Sydney Catholic Schools executive director Tony Farley said at a media conference.
'Closing a school, even for just one day, may seem to be an extraordinary measure but we are living in extraordinary times.'
The school will reopen for students on Tuesday after a thorough cleaning of the library where the event was held.
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