Page 965 - Week 04 - Thursday, 7 May 2020
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MR COE: Minister, will the schools be appropriately equipped with the recommended soap, handwashing facilities, sanitiser and other health protocols before schools return full time, starting on 18 May?
MS BERRY: Yes, they will. We have been working closely with school principals and schoolteachers to make sure they have what they need. I have asked schools to make sure they let the Education Directorate know how much sanitiser they need, how much of other products they need, how much soap, to ensure that they are fully stocked, overstocked, for when students and teachers return to school.
MS LEE: Minister, whose responsibility is it to ensure that all these health protocols are implemented and are being adhered to, for the protection of our teachers, parents and students?
MS BERRY: If you are referring to the protocols around personal hygiene, social distancing, coughing into your elbow, I think over the last eight weeks the community has been well informed and has learned, and generally everybody knows what they need to do to keep our whole community safe. The Chief Health Officer, backed up by the Minister for Health, has communicated this repeatedly, daily, over the last eight weeks. Our schoolteachers know what is required of them and will make it very clear to parents and students what the requirement is of them as they return to campuses, to ensure that they continue with their own personal hygiene as well.
Transport—COVID-19
MS LE COUTEUR: My question is to the Minister for Transport and relates to public transport as we come out of the COVID-19 restrictions. Minister, how is the government going to manage social distancing on public transport as patronage recovers?
MR STEEL: I thank Ms Le Couteur for her question. This is an issue that we have been considering and will continue to consider over the coming weeks. We know that currently there are not a huge number of people using public transport, but that will increase over time. Last week, we saw a 30 per cent increase compared to the previous few weeks in the number of people using public transport. We will continue to monitor that.
I have asked Transport Canberra and City Services to start preparing a recovery plan for Transport Canberra that will look at the safety measures that are required as we see more people coming back onto public transport. We also will be guided by the work of the AHPPC and their advice, and the advice of the Chief Health Officer, in relation to safe operating standards for various industries, including the transport industry, particularly public transport.
There have already been a number of guidance reports published, one by WSP in the last couple of weeks that looks at a whole range of different measures that we will consider. Also, we will be guided by what is happening in terms of international best practice through the International Association of Public Transport, UITP, which has
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