While educational facilities in Orange were told they could remain open after the city was plunged into lockdown at midnight on Tuesday, Charles Sturt University and some schools have closed their campuses.
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Parents of students in years 1, 3, 4 and 5 at St Mary's Catholic Primary School were asked to collect students in those year levels and siblings from school immediately on Wednesday.
Some students in those year levels were deemed close contacts for an Orange COVID-19 exposure site.
The students cannot return to school until a negative test result has been received.
Public schools, Orange Anglican Grammar School, and Orange Christian School are remaining open to all students.
However, they are subject to tighter government restrictions including a requirement for all staff to wear masks indoors and outdoors.
All students in year 7 and above are required to wear masks or face coverings in all indoor settings while at school and students aged 13 years and older are required to wear masks on buses.
Schools can continue to operate canteens where appropriate hygiene measures are in place.
No staff should be present on the Orange campus except for essential work, and only students residing in our on-campus accommodation should be present on campus.
- Charles Sturt University
Early childhood services and preschools can also operate, however educators and carers will be required to wear masks, including when caring for and educating children.
However, both James Sheahan Catholic High School and Kinross Wolaroi School have chosen to close their schools.
Charles Sturt University also closed its Orange campus until further notice and sent out a message to students on Tuesday night.
"The university has taken the decision to close the Orange campus immediately until further notice - no classes will delivered and no services will be available from Orange on Wednesday," the university stated in a message to students.
"No staff should be present on the Orange campus except for essential work, and only students residing in our on-campus accommodation should be present on campus.
"Furthermore, anyone who has been in the Orange, Blayney and Cabonne local government areas since Saturday [July 17] must not attend any of our campuses."
The university said it will do what it can to support students by offering make-up classes or moving to online studies where possible.
"Similarly, we will support students currently on work placement in affected areas," the message said.
Among the schools that have also asked students to stay home where possible are James Sheahan Catholic High School and Kinross Wolaroi School.
In a letter to parents and carers, James Sheahan Catholic High School principal Peter Meers said the school would "vary" the general instruction for schools to remain operational after a number of students were identified as secondary contacts to infectious people.
The Catholic Education Diocese of Bathurst issued instructions that schooling continue to operate as normal, with staff and students wearing masks and an adherence to social distancing, however for at least the next two days, due to the impact of secondary close contacts, students at James Sheahan have been asked to stay home.
In a message to parents on Tuesday night, Kinross Wolaroi School principal Dr Andrew Parry said the school would close for the duration of the seven-day lockdown.
He said the decision was made to protect students, staff and families in the face of the developing health crisis and that the school had been identified as a high risk setting for transmission of the virus since the pandemic began.
"With the announcement of several sites of concern in Orange and districts, this closure is precautionary in the face of growing evidence of local transmission of COVID-19," Dr Parry said.
"Kinross Wolaroi School has a large school community of more than 300 staff and 900 families from all over NSW and interstate.
While the NSW Government made a further announcement late yesterday evening that schools would stay open, we feel our decision to close is the right one for our context.
- Kinross Wolaroi School principal Dr Andrew Parry
"This means we have a large footprint in the local community as well as a reach that goes deep into the state's regions.
"It is most important to us that we do not play any part in spreading the virus locally or to vulnerable regional communities."
Dr Parry said the school remaiend infection free and the lockdown period presented an opportunity for boarding students to return to their families and that they would not need to navigate a lockdown zone and isolation requirements to see each other.
"While the NSW Government made a further announcement late yesterday evening that schools would stay open, we feel our decision to close is the right one for our context," he said.
As a result, students will return to remote learning however there will still be supervision for children of essential workers.
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