Australian schools have been urged not to exclude students just because they have travelled to China as some private colleges take extreme measures to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus outbreak.
One Brisbane boarding school has told parents that 10 Chinese students returning from a holiday in their home country will be isolated for two weeks while other who have been to China from attending the first two weeks of classes unless they are medically cleared.
The precautions go beyond the official advice from health and education departments which have stressed that only students who have returned from China and feel unwell or have had close contact with a confirmed case of coronavirus should be isolated for 14 days.
All others should be allowed to go to class.
Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan stopped short of rebuking schools that had taken extreme measures but suggested they were overreacting.
“My advice to all schools, to universities, to private colleges, to vocational providers is to follow the advice put out by the health department," he told ABC radio.
Mr Tehan said it was up to schools to make their own decisions, but they should be based on medical advice.
Dan Tehan says schools should follow medical advice. Source: AAP
"We want to make sure that we are continuing to send a message that Australia is open to international students," Mr Tehan said.
Australia's chief medical officer Brendan Murphy said it was not necessary to quarantine everyone returning from China.
"The advice remains the same which is that people who have come from China should be treated like any normal member of the community unless they develop symptoms of fever, flu-like symptoms which could suggest this virus and if they're unwell they must wear a mask and ring their GP or emergency department," Professor Murphy told reporters Tuesday morning.
Later on Tuesday, however, NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell and Western Australian Health Minister Roger Cook urged parents of children who had travelled to China within the past two weeks to keep them home from school, going against the federal government's advice.
"We are asking parents to keep their children at home," Ms Mitchell said.
"I think it is important we are taking this precautionary measure in line with community sentiment but also knowing we are doing everything we can even though the risk is low, to ensure the safety in that school environment."
Nationally, there are five confirmed cases of coronavirus: four in NSW and one in Victoria, but none so far in Queensland.
The Stuartholme School for girls in Brisbane advised parents that 10 students returning from China would be confined to a separate floor of the boarding house for 14 days.
Principal Kristen Sharpe said the girls would enjoy "luxurious" accommodation and would be well cared for.
"We'll keep them up there and check on them each day," she told ABC radio.
Melbourne's Wesley College also plans to isolate boarders who have been in Hubei province - the epicentre of the deadly virus outbreak - until they have been symptom-free for two weeks.
Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia CEO Beth Blackwood said it was appropriate for boarding schools to take additional steps.
Students returning from Lunar New Year celebrations in China may need to wait before attending school. Source: AAP
"While I have every confidence in the department, I think schools will make independent decisions based on the needs of their school and the needs of the student populations," Ms Blackwood told SBS News.
As principal of Presbyterian Ladies' College in Perth during the SARS outbreak in 2003 Ms Blackwood took a similar approach.
She said principals would be mindful of not creating a sense of panic.
"It's not simply exclusion without support, they would be working behind the scenes to reassure students and parents."
Some parents are also demanding permission for children to wear masks at school to protect themselves.
Additional reporting by AAP.
