The principal of an independent P-12 Islamic school in Melbourne’s west, which is at the centre of among Victoria’s largest coronavirus clusters, has broken his silence.Omar Hallak, principal at Al-Taqwa College in Truganina, has actually stayed tight-lipped given that the school reported its very first case of COVID-19 on June 27, 11 days ago.More information about Melbourne’s COVID-19 lockdown in the video above Since Wednesday, the total number of
cases connected to the school cluster had actually risen to 102. Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Dr Brett Sutton verified the entire school was in lockdown, as health authorities were treating 2,300 personnel and trainees as close contacts.Hallak said the school”regrets “that personnel and trainees had tested favorable for the infection, in a statement released on Wednesday.’We understand this news will include to stress and anxiety in the neighborhood.'”All staff and trainees have been asked to get evaluated and have been placed in quarantine while DHHS continues their
tracing and the College undergoes a deep clean,” he said.Hallak stated the school had been working closely with the Department of Health and Human Solutions
to” support their efforts to trace the origin of the
infection and to trace all the contacts of the affected individuals “.”We know this news will add to anxiety in the neighborhood, “he said.”We pray that our state conquers this pandemic and we want every impacted person a speedy recovery.”‘A different example’Hallak stated the school had done its”utmost finest” to avoid an outbreak.But he said”sadly”it was “out of our hands as it is with numerous other schools around Victoria, around the nation and worldwide, which is
quite saddening “. On Tuesday, Sutton said that while the state had seen cases of
COVID-19 in schools, Al-Taqwa College was” a different example”. “There seems to have been transmission in the school
that was rather significant,”Sutton told reporters.”If you’re moving around in a setting where you remain in close contact with great deals of other individuals, they will
become contaminated and you can get that explosive increase.”‘ Every safety measure’Hallak stated prior to news of the first infection,”every precaution “had been taken to protect personnel and students.
“We have actually been watchful since the outbreak of COVID19 and put in location precaution to keep all staff, trainees and the wider neighborhood safe,”he said.More from 7NEWS. com.au He said temperature checks had actually been performed on a day-to-day basis, hand santisier was readily offered, and anyone in the school neighborhood with even the mildest of signs was sent out home.” Staff were directed to comply with the guidelines of the Premier and the Chief Health Minister at all times, “he said.Hallak likewise said the school had actually taken extra procedures consisting of spending over$100,000 on”additional cleaning and hygiene steps, including an organisation approved by DHHS”.