© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Pedestrians wear protective face masks amidst fears of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Sydney2/2
By Kirsty Needham
SYDNEY (Reuters) – On the burning question of whether Australian schools should close as coronavirus cases increase, Prime Minister Scott Morrison was adamant: “Children should go to school.”
Morrison emerged from a special meeting of state and territory leaders on Sunday evening to urge parents to keep children in class, even as non-essential services including restaurants and cinemas shut.
“There is no change in the medical expert advice,” he said.
Yet before school gates opened on Monday, Gladys Berejiklian, premier of the most populous state, New South Wales (NSW), was urging parents to keep children at home.
Public confidence in Morrison’s leadership was dented by the recent bushfire crisis, according to polls, as state leaders, including Berejiklian, emerged as…
