Good
morning, everybody. NSW is at a critical stage in relation to the
virus. We need to make sure the spread stops. We need to make sure
everybody who's in self-isolation stays in self-isolation.
We
are ramping up our compliance. We're making sure that people are
followed up. If they're supposed to be in self-isolation and they're
not, there are harsh penalties and we'll enforce that.
We
have to take this seriously.
And
if NSW citizens follow the health advice, which is if you're
self-isolating, stay in self-isolation, that includes contacts,
direct contacts of people who have been diagnosed with the virus. If
you are under those instructions, please, please follow those
instructions. Do not go out into the community.
The
quicker we stop the spread, the more handle, the more control we'll
have over this virus.
And
as the Chief Medical Officer will update the community this morning,
we have had an increase — a substantial increase — in the number
of cases again overnight. I don't want to see that number going up as
rapidly.
We
have to contain the spread, and this is exactly the critical time in
NSW for that to occur.
I
also want to thank the NSW Police Force for their contribution in
relation to containing the spread, and making sure people are
complying.
We
know it's a tough time for many in the community, and my heart breaks
for those businesses that had to shut their doors. My heart breaks
for people who don't have a job anymore.
But
please be assured that all governments are working hard to provide
support to help all of us get through the next few months. It will be
difficult.
I
also want to thank our school communities. For many people, they had
to change what they were doing, or think about what they were doing,
and I want to thank our teachers and I want to thank our parents and
school communities for the way in which they've responded to the
Government's direction yesterday.
This
is a difficult time for us, but I'm confident NSW will control as
much as we can the spread of this virus, so long as everybody steps
up and does what they need to do.
But
we are at a critical stage, and I can't emphasise that enough.
Reporter:
Premier, do you accept that it is unacceptable, the level of
confusion that you've caused over schools?
Premier:
Look, our direction in schools is very clear. I'll ask the Minister
for Education to also discuss how school communities are adapting.
Schools stay open. If you need to send your child to school, schools
stay open.
However,
we are recommending at this time that parents keep their children at
home. And I said that yesterday, and I say that again today.
We
appreciate, we appreciate what a challenging time this is for
everybody, but we know for practical reasons a third of parents were
keeping their kids at home last week. Yesterday, that number went up
substantially, even before the messaging around what we were
recommending.
And
we also appreciate - and let me be frank, based on health advice, we
don't know what the next five or six weeks will look like.
We
are entering a period where our schools are about to go into school
holidays, and it's appropriate for us to make sure we get the home
learning up and ready.
This
has been a good chance for us, an opportunity for us, to make sure
that whether it's through web-based tools or whether it's through
home learning, that we have the systems in place to support our
children, to support our students, given what we might face into the
future.
Good
government means prudent planning, it means making sure you have a
no-regrets policy. And I have a no-regrets policy. I'm incredibly
pleased with the decisions we've taken to date. I don't regret any of
them because I believe they're in the best interests of our citizens,
and I continue to make decisions based on the best interests of our
citizens, because we are in uncertain times.
I
want to look back and think that every time we made a decision it was
the right one for our people. And I don't care what criticism I get.
Throw it at me, because I'm doing it because I believe it's in the
best interests of the citizens of NSW.
We
are a different state to the rest of Australia. We have the most
people returned from overseas. We have the highest number of cases.
We have the highest concentration. But to give you assurance, we also
have the highest rates of testing, and that's what's giving me
comfort.
Reporter:
Is there something that's prompted this new warning from the two of
you today about self-isolation?
Premier:
Yes, because if you look around the world, if you see how the virus
is getting out of control around the world, if you see the huge
escalation in deaths, many countries did not control the spread at
this stage of the virus. Right?
We
can tell from our numbers — and they're going up quite
significantly every day — but many countries did not take some of
the actions this early on in the process in order to control the
spread.
I
don't want to be another example of a jurisdiction that didn't do
what it needed to do at the right time. And I've got an outstanding
chief medical officer, and her advice means everything to me. But so
does my ability to make decisions for my citizens.
Again,
I don't care what criticism I get, I will do what's right for our
people.
Reporter:
Can we just get clarification on the school issue? Is it a
recommendation or a directive? I got a note from our school principal
saying, "Do not send your children to school unless you, as in
parents, are in emergency services and essential service"?
Premier:
We've said schools are open. Schools are open and a safe place.
We
know that for some families, they have no option to keep their
children at home during this time. I appreciate that, but schools are
a safe place.
And
they're even safer when there's less children there, for the
teachers, right?
So,
we know that the decision we've taken is the best one for NSW, for
practical reasons. We knew already the level of concern in the
community was there, because at least a third of parents...
Reporter:
Premier, did you hear his question? He said his principal said not to
turn up at school unless they're [in] emergency...
Premier:
I will ask the Minister for Education to talk about [that]...
certainly the communication I've seen has been very clear. And I know
both the secretary and the minister have met with all our stakeholder
communities yesterday.
Reporter:
Do you accept how ridiculously conflicting it is for a parent to get
a note that says, "You can only send your child to school if
you're an emergency services essential worker", when you're
standing up here, saying, "That's not the case"?
NSW
Education Minister Sarah Mitchell: The message is clear. School
is open for those who need to attend.
We
have said to our school principals, you need to communicate to your
school families, parent communities and carers about what they need
to do.
