Parents will have to choose for themselves whether to continue regularly COVID testing their children amid a raft of changes to school settings announced this week.
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From the start of the first school term, each student had been provided with four RATs a fortnight, but that supply has come to an end after the hand-out of eight tests per child to cover the rest of the term.
Red Hill Public School principal Tina Roworth welcomed the testing change, saying it feels like schools are finally moving on from COVID.
"Parents will now monitor the RATs themselves as they feel they need to which I think is a much more responsive approach than the surveillance testing previously," she said.
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"I think it's helping us to return to normal, parents will only have to use a RAT on their child if their child has symptoms."
Masks requirements for high school students and staff will lift on Monday, premier Dominic Perrottet announced on Wednesday, and in primary schools on March 7.
More visitors will also be allowed on school grounds from next week, and activities such as assemblies and camps will resume. Activity restrictions and cohorting requirements will be relaxed, giving children more freedom to interact across classes and year groups.
Wagga mum Marjan Duggan said she will personally continue to test her children regularly.
"It was annoying having to do one twice a week, especially since the kids do not like it and it can be a struggle to get it done," she said.
"On the other hand, it might slow down the spread with regular testing.
"I will keep testing my kids and myself just to make sure we don't spread it if we get it - I think that's the right thing to do."
Member for Wagga Dr Joe McGirr said the transition is a "responsible" move.
"I think parents are going to be pretty happy to not have to do the tests on kids, I think they are pretty over it," he said.
"I want to thank the teachers and the parents for their continuous use of RATs, I think 90 per cent of parents use them."
Parents are still being urged to continue using RATs but will have to source their own once the supply dries up.
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