The Pan Pacific in Perth.

The Pan Pacific in Perth.Credit:David Prestipino

West Australian Chief Health Officer Andy Robertson said in a press conference a short time ago that genomic sequencing had found a positive case from May 23 of a man who had come from Colombia and a second man on May 31 were linked.

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A family of three who were opposite the second man have so far tested negative but have been moved to another room in quarantine.

A further 12 people from the same floor who were not near the two men,referred to as cases 1017 and 1018,have left quarantine but will continue to be tested for the virus.

Deputy Chief Health Officer Robyn Lawrence said the nearest guests to the people who remained in quarantine had been four rooms away from where the cases were recorded.

Security guards who worked on the floor since the cases have so far returned negative tests for COVID-19.

Read more here.

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Schools brace for more remote learning,call for staff vaccinations

ByMadeleine Heffernan andAdam Carey

The think tank behind Victoria’s coronavirus catch-up tutors program says the Andrews government should urgently prioritise reopening schools to limit lost learning for struggling students,as principals prepare for the possibility that remote learning will continue for a second week.

There are growing calls across the school sector for educators tojoin aged care and disability workers in getting fast-tracked vaccinations to reduce the risk of another prolonged period of remote learning.

Julie Sonnemann of the Grattan Institute says there’s a real risk protracted school shutdowns will harm some students.

Julie Sonnemann of the Grattan Institute says there’s a real risk protracted school shutdowns will harm some students.Credit:Janie Barrett

Julie Sonnemann,school education fellow at the Grattan Institute,warned that there was a real risk that protracted school shutdowns would harm some students,particularly those who struggled with remote schooling last year.

“Getting schools reopened as soon as possible should be a key priority for government,” she said.

The Andrews government has rolled out a$250 million tutoring learning program and school mental health packages this year to address the fallout from almost two terms of remote learning in 2020.

These programs are continuing online during Victoria’s fourth lockdown,which includesa statewide shift to home learning until at least Thursday.

But Ms Sonnemann said online tutoring for a small handful of students could only do so much during a lockdown and that the quality of whole-class remote learning needed to be improved.

Read the full story here.

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