A NEW survey has found 66 per cent of parents believe it is unsafe for children to return to school classrooms when the country is in the middle of the highly infectious Omicron outbreak.
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Just one-in-five parents were happy to let their children go back to school, according to a national survey by parent advocacy group, The Parenthood, in a poll of 3043 families.
More than half of respondents (56 per cent) said school should be delayed to allow precautions to be taken around the provision of masks, rapid antigen tests and ventilation.
A similar proportion (52 per cent) said the peak of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 should be allowed to pass, while 51 per cent said schools should stay closed to ensure more children can be vaccinated.
"In the weeks since the 2021 school year ended the COVID picture around the country has changed dramatically," The Parenthood's executive director Georgie Dent said.
"Having spent almost two years heeding the strict message that keeping kids home was the best way to keep them and others safe from this virus, it is not surprising that against a backdrop of surging cases parents aren't feeling confident or certain that returning as planned makes sense."
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has urged states and territories to open schools as planned, although Queensland has delayed its opening by two weeks.
Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy warned the national cabinet last week that 10 per cent of the workforce could be absent because of COVID at any one time, which would increase by a further five per cent if schools stay closed.
Mr Morrison announced on Friday that education and childcare sector workers who were deemed close contacts could avoid isolation and return to work after providing a negative rapid antigen test.
"It is absolutely essential for schools to go back safely and remain safely open if we are not going to see any further exacerbation of the workforce challenges we are currently facing," he said.
Such concerns came as tens of thousands of Australians continue to contract the Omicron strain and the death toll continues to rise. NSW announced 34,660 new COVID-19 cases along with a further 20 virus-related deaths. Victoria posted 28,128 new COVID-19 infections and 13 deaths.
Meanwhile, the federal government is providing additional funding to assist the temporary widening of telehealth consultations through GPs and other specialists due to the high infection rate from the Omicron outbreak.
